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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453722">A Symbol Of Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelanieR/pseuds/MelanieR'>MelanieR</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Highlander: The Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:42:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,061</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelanieR/pseuds/MelanieR</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>First season story. A thief robs the antique store, and Richie is determined to retrieve a special necklace of Tessa's, no matter how much trouble he gets into.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Symbol Of Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>October 1992</p><p>"We're never gonna make it," Richie said, looking at his watch for the dozenth time in the last ten minutes. "I'm telling you, Mac, we'd better just stay home."</p><p>"Don't worry, Richie, we have plenty of time," MacLeod told him with a knowing smile. "Tessa and I know how much seeing the ballet means to you and I promise we won't miss a minute of it."</p><p>"Great," Richie replied, without enthusiasm, and dropped into the nearest chair where he started drumming his fingers on the arm.</p><p>After a few minutes of this, Duncan sent him to try and hurry the missing member of their party along.</p><p>"Hey, Tessa, what's the holdup?" Richie asked, leaning in the doorway of her room.</p><p>"I'm trying to decide which necklace to wear," she answered, holding several between her fingers. She shook her head and put one down, then turned toward him holding two others before her. "What do you think, the teardrop, or the choker?"</p><p>"They're both nice, Tessa," he said, dismissing the subject, "just grab one and let's go, okay?"</p><p>"Just grab one," she echoed, pursing her lips at him. The male of the species was hopeless.</p><p>"All right, so wear this one," he capitulated, picking a delicately inscribed medallion that lay in the center of the dressing table.</p><p>"No, not that one," she said, retrieving the necklace from him. "I only wear that on special occasions."</p><p>"Why, what's so special about it? Is it worth more than the others or something." He regarded the necklace with new respect.</p><p>"Yes, much more," she replied, dreamily. She noticed the puzzled look on the teenager's face and explained. "Duncan gave it to me."</p><p>"Mac's given you lots of gifts, Tess," he persisted.</p><p>"It's a symbol, Richie," Duncan said, coming up beside him. "The shop will come and go, friends will come and go, but this," he told the boy, taking the medallion from Tessa, "is a symbol of something that will last forever." He leaned down and kissed Tessa, and Richie took that as his cue to leave the room. </p><p>It looked like they'd miss the beginning of the ballet, after all.</p><p>November 1992</p><p>The opera. The ballet wasn't bad enough, now they had to drag him to the opera. Big women with big chests and bigger voices singing in what, Italian? Whatever it was he didn't understand a word, and having to wear a tux was no picnic, either. </p><p>He'd planned to sneak out during the break, but Mac seemed to read his mind and made a point of keeping him within arms reach while he and Tessa sipped champagne (Richie was given a coke) and smoozed with the upper crust of high society. Richie had never seen so many diamonds draped around so many necks in his entire eighteen years. Man, if his friends from the old neighborhood could see him now.</p><p>It was an interminably long evening as Richie took great pains to tell them on the drive home. "Four hours, how can anybody sing for four hours? And did anybody buy this stuff? I mean, come on, you're telling me you're gonna burst into song over the body of your dead lover. Yeah, right," he said, scornfully. "Oh, and all those creepy little guys running around the stage while she offs herself. What was that all about?"</p><p>Duncan and Tessa sat in the front seat of the Mercedes without saying a word throughout most of the deluge. Duncan was grinning despite his best efforts at Richie's colorful descriptions of scenes that had held most of the audience enthralled, and Tessa was caught between wanting to box Richie's ears and laughing out loud.</p><p>"Richie, those 'creepy little guys' were the personification of the dark forces and their influence on mere mortals," Tessa explained, patiently.</p><p>"Yeah, well, this is one mere mortal who'd rather watch a Swartzennager movie," he informed them, loftily.</p><p>"Richie, Duncan and I are just trying to expose you to some culture." Richie made a rude noise at that. "Something other than your normal blood and guts films," she continued, overlooking his commentary.</p><p>"What's wrong with blood and guts movies," he asked, with all the belligerence of a teenager who'd just been forced to sit reasonably still for nearly four hours.</p><p>Tessa was about to make a caustic reply to this as they pulled into the lot behind the antique store when Duncan intervened.</p><p>"Why don't we talk about this some more in the morning. I think we're all pretty tired, and I for one just want to go to bed," he said, stroking Tessa's arm suggestively.</p><p>"That's a wonderful idea," Tessa said with a smile meant only for him, as the couple exited the car.</p><p>"Having missed the byplay between the two, Richie just threw his arms up at the idiosyncrasies of his friends and followed the couple to the back door.</p><p>MacLeod punched in the security code and stepped through the door into the workshop behind the store, followed closely by Tessa and Richie.</p><p>"I'll get the lights," Richie offered, and started for the side panel.</p><p>Duncan suddenly tensed and grabbed the boy's arm as he passed. "Wait," he said, looking into the dimly lit interior of the shop. His four hundred year old instincts warning him that something wasn't right.</p><p>"What is it, Duncan?" Tessa whispered.</p><p>"Maybe nothing," he told her. His Katana appeared in his hand as he headed for the nearest display case. "Stay put," he instructed, moving cautiously around the case and toward the front of the store.</p><p>There were small pieces of evidence that things were not as they'd left them-a display case slightly ajar and several valuable doubloons missing, a stand that normally housed a ruby-encrusted dagger and gold Aztec ceremonial mask, empty.</p><p>Duncan didn't sense the presence of the intruder, but he wasn't taking any chances.</p><p>A sudden movement to his right swung him around with sword readied.</p><p>"Whoa, Mac, it's me," came a familiar voice.</p><p>Duncan thought about swinging the sword in the boy's direction as an object lesson in caution, but he was beginning to think the kid didn't know the meaning of the word. He reached over and hit the lights before turning back to glare at Richie where he stood regarding the older man with an air of innocence that was at odds with the smirk on his face.</p><p>"I told you to stay put," MacLeod admonished.</p><p>"I thought you might need help," Richie offered, lamely as Tessa appeared at his side, looking concerned.</p><p>"Duncan...."</p><p>"We've been robbed," Duncan said in answer to her unspoken question. "It's all right, whoever was here is long gone."</p><p>The next two hours were spent inventorying the store to ascertain what had been taken, and giving an account to the police who dusted for prints and discovered how the thief had bypassed the alarm system.</p><p>The only clue left at the scene was the band from an expensive cigar and the lingering odor of smoke-not much for them to work with.</p><p>Richie received an oddly appraising look from the detective in charge when he critiqued the thief's method of entry, and MacLeod hastily found something for him to do elsewhere.</p><p>Tessa had retired to her room and Richie stopped to see if she needed anything before turning in himself.</p><p>He found her sitting at her dressing table in tears.</p><p>"Tessa, are you okay?"</p><p>"He took it," she said, her expression pitiful.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"The medallion, he took the medallion," she answered and the tears started again.</p><p>"Well, I think they've gotten everything they needed," Duncan said, tiredly, as he strode into the room. He noted the helpless look on Richie's face and Tessa's tears at the same moment. "What is it?"</p><p>"It's gone, Duncan." "He stole the medallion, Mac," they answered in unison.</p><p>Duncan knelt down and wrapped his comforting arms around Tessa. "I'm so sorry, love," he murmured into her hair as she clung to him. He knew the chances of recovering it were slim, and so did she.</p><p>Feeling useless, Richie turned and left the room.</p><p>The look on Tessa's face stayed with Richie all night. Even in his dreams, her eyes were clouded with tears.</p><p>By the time he got up the next morning, he already knew what he had to do. Get that medallion back for them, come hell or high water. He had connections with the seamier side of the city-if anyone could do it, he could. Or so he kept telling himself as he hit the bricks at six a.m. the next morning.</p><p>Junior Goodson, an old partner-in-crime of Richie's, owed him a long-standing favor, and he was about to cash it in. By noon, the word was out on the street, Junior Goodson was calling in his markers. Anyone with a tip on a valuable crystal necklace or a Havana cigar smoker looking to sell big would let him know.</p><p>Richie got the call from Junior before noon the next day. Some big-deal crook who smoked bad smelling cigars and only dealt in high-priced objects d'art was looking to sell. Junior said the guy was new to the neighborhood, but a few of the boys had had dealings with him before and he was one nasty dude. Junior told Richie to watch his back, before announcing that the debt was paid and hanging up.</p><p>Duncan would be at a week-long auction in Everett on and off for the next few days, and Tessa had a lunch date with her friends and had left the shop in Richie's hands for the afternoon. Other than a few phone calls, the store had been quiet and he couldn't afford to sit on this tip, he had to be there when the guy arrived or blow his chance. He made a mental note to relay the phone messages to Tessa before he put the 'closed' sign in the window, locked up, set the new alarm, and headed downtown on his motorcycle.</p><p>He arrived at the back of Swenson's fish market (long known among the riffraff as a front for a 'merchandise disposal center' as he liked to call it) shortly thereafter and waited in an alley across the street for more than an hour before a dark blue Mercedes pulled into the alley next to the market. A well-dressed man in his fifties got out, and after surreptitiously looking around, made his way inside empty handed. This was also common practice-discuss the goods and set a price up front before displaying anything. Richie had been counting on that.</p><p>As soon as the man went inside, Richie cautiously but quickly made his way down the alley to the trunk of the car. Fishing in his pocket he pulled out a tool he hadn't used in quite a while-his lock pick. He went to work on the lock with a speed and efficiency that would have alarmed his honest friends, and smiled with satisfaction as he heard the lock give. He raised the trunk lid just enough to look inside without drawing any obvious attention and flipped on the small flashlight, that he hadn't used since breaking into the Antique store many months before. Holding the flashlight in his teeth, he rummaged through the bags he found. Lots of nice stuff, but not what he was looking for. He had to fight the urge to palm some of the smaller items, old habits die hard, after all.</p><p>After what seemed like hours, but couldn't have more than a few minutes, Richie's hand closed around a small velvet bag. He raised it into the flashlight beam and upended it. A smile lit his face when the object of his quest dropped into his open hand. He quickly dropped it into his shirt pocket, before pushing the trunk closed with a gentle pressure. He went to put the flashlight away and froze as something cold and hard pressed into his back. </p><p>"Find anything interesting?" a clipped voice inquired politely.</p><p>"I wasn't doing anything," Richie said, innocently, despite all evidence to the contrary.</p><p>The pressure in his back increased and he grimaced in reflex.</p><p>"Wrong answer. Let's you and I take a little walk, hmm."</p><p>Richie swiveled along with the guiding force of the gun in his back and took a step deeper into the alley. He noticed a broken bottle a few paces ahead and purposely aimed his foot for it, landing with a satisfying pop, that threw him slightly off balance and startled the would-be shooter. Richie took advantage of the moment and spun around, swinging out with the hand holding the flashlight (the only weapon he had) and catching the older man across the bridge of his nose. Blood gushed outward and the man howled, dropping his gun hand. Richie summoned all his adrenaline and took off back the way he'd come with a sprinter's speed.</p><p>He was almost clear of the alley, when he heard a muffled pop and felt a breeze pass by his left arm, catching his shirt sleeve. He slowed not one bit and was across the street and jumping on his bike before he even realized he'd been shot at. The realization sent a chill through him and he silently thanked whatever angel was sitting on his shoulder for a job well done. Luck was certainly with him today.</p><p>Or so he thought, until he pulled into the alley behind the bike shop and saw Tessa's silver Mercedes in it's customary spot. She wasn't supposed to be home until three and it was only a little after two now.</p><p>He braced himself for the inevitable barrage of questions and went inside.</p><p>Tessa was nowhere in sight as he made his way through the shop to the adjacent apartment and headed for his room. He figured if he made it that far he might be able to convince her that he had been home for awhile, and must have missed her. His hopes went out the window as he neared his destination.</p><p>"Richie, is that you?" There was an undertone of fear in Tessa's voice and Richie suddenly felt guilty for trying to sneak in. She was probably afraid to be in the place alone so soon after the break-in.</p><p>"Yeah, Tessa, it's me."</p><p>She stepped out of her and Duncan's bedroom still in the process of brushing out her hair with angry strokes. She glared at him before coming right to the point.</p><p>"Where have you been? You were supposed to be minding the store, not running around with your friends."</p><p>"Calm down, Tessa, I wasn't running around with my friends."</p><p>"Then where were you?" she asked again, arms crossed.</p><p>"It was important, Tess. Could you just take my word for that, and let it go?" he asked, hopefully.</p><p>Tessa looked at him with a speculative expression. "Important, huh?"</p><p>"Yeah," he answered, grinning. "So we're okay, right?" This was going to be easier that he'd thought.</p><p>"Well, I guess if it was impor..." She didn't finish as she caught sight of the torn sleeve of his shirt and the bloody furrow underneath. "Richie, what happened?" Tessa pulled the edges of the shirt apart to get a better look at his arm.</p><p>Richie shrugged uncomfortably while trying to extricate his arm from her grip. "It's nothing, Tessa. I just got caught on something." Her look of disbelief had him adding, "really, I can barely even feel it."</p><p>"Well, it looks pretty nasty to me," she said, maintaining her hold and pulling him along behind her. "I still have some antiseptic in the medicine cabinet, although at the rate we use it around her, maybe I'd better keep a few extra bottles on hand."</p><p>"Tessa.....," Richie protested, but her maternal instincts had kicked in and she'd have none of it.</p><p>"Sit down," she ordered indicating the hamper, "and you might as well take that shirt off, it's ruined anyway."</p><p>Richie knew better than to argue with her when she went into her Florence Nightingale mode. It never got him anywhere, and she seemed to thrive on it. Maybe because Mac never needed help healing and she didn't have any kids to look after. Whatever the reason, she always went after his cuts and blisters with a vengeance.</p><p>While he shucked off his shirt, she was busy arranging her accessories on the counter. Antiseptic, cotton, gauze and scissors were all lined up in a neat row before she turned back to her patient.</p><p>"It's just a scratch, Tess," he said, amused. "It won't require surgery."</p><p>"Very funny," she said, wrinkling her nose at him. "It's scratches like this that turn into infections because people don't think anything of them. Now sit still."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," Richie said, sarcasm evident in his voice.</p><p>Tessa ignored him and went about her task, only releasing him after she had cleaned, covered and taped the wound.</p><p>"There, that should do it," she said, smiling with satisfaction.</p><p>"That should do it, all right," Richie muttered, looking down at his arm. "Don't you think this is overkill? I suppose if I got a splinter, you'd have to amputate."</p><p>"Never mind," Tessa replied, as she gathered up her supplies and he grabbed a clean shirt from the laundry. She knocked her hairbrush off on the floor in the process and bent to retrieve it along with his forgotten shirt.</p><p>"I don't suppose this is worth trying to repair," she said to no one in particular and folded it over her free arm. As she did, something solid fell out of the breast pocket and landed on the carpet at her feet.</p><p>"What's this?" she asked, picking it up.</p><p>Richie recognized the item at the same time she did, and it was difficult to tell who was more startled as they both eyed the stolen medallion.</p><p>Tessa's gaze shifted from the locket, to the boy's shirt, to Richie himself.</p><p>"I can explain, Tess."</p><p>"Go ahead," she instructed. "I'm not going anywhere." And neither are you, was implied as well, even if the words weren't spoken out loud.</p><p>"Okay, but you've go to promise that you won't overreact. I mean nobody got hurt."</p><p>"Richie!"</p><p>"All right, all right," he said with hands raised in a defensive gesture, "I'm getting to it." He was clearly uncomfortable with the turn of events, and this was going to take some fast talking, but then he'd never had any trouble with that.</p><p>"You know the shop was robbed day before yesterday, and you know that the medallion was stolen along with some other stuff," he started.</p><p>"Yes, yes, I know all that. What I don't know is how you got this back."</p><p>"Well, I guess you could say I *stole* it back."</p><p>Tessa just stared at him as if she didn't quite understand what he'd said.</p><p>"I've got a few connections, you know, so I traced the guy through some old friends who are into, let's say 'misplaced jewelry'. They gave me a couple addresses, I checked them out and voila," he said, spreading his hands to display the locket dangling from her hand, "no more misplaced medallion."</p><p>Tessa seemed to come out of her trance at that. "What do you mean 'voila'?" she asked, her tone betraying nothing.</p><p>"It's French, Tess."</p><p>His smart mouth wasn't appreciated right now, as Tessa's look told him very clearly.</p><p>"You're telling me you were given this man's address by some of your less-than-trustworthy friends—people you're not supposed to be associating with anymore. You went off alone—without telling either us or the police and then, what, asked him politely to return the medallion?" Her voice remained surprisingly level throughout.</p><p>"Not exactly," Richie admitted.</p><p>"Then how *exactly* did you get it back," Tessa demanded.</p><p>"I sort of broke into his car and took it," he said, glibly, and waited for the explosion. It wasn't long in coming.</p><p>"You broke in! Don't you realize what might have happened? Richie, this man is a thief! He probably has a gun! You might have been hurt!" She remembered his arm and waving his shirt at him added, "you *were* hurt!"</p><p>"Aww, Tess."</p><p>"And don't try that wide-eyed innocent look with me. This time it won't work," she said, firmly. "you can just save it for later and see if it works with Duncan."</p><p>Richie grimaced at that. Mac. He hadn't counted on that. Actually, he hadn't counted on any of this. Tessa wasn't even supposed to be home. He wished people would do what they say they're going to do and stop complicating his life.</p><p>"Aw, come on Tess, what's the problem? Everything turned out all right, didn't it?" Richie gave her his patented killer smile. "I got the necklace back, no fuss, no muss—everything's cool."</p><p>There were times when Tessa found his cockiness amusing, this was not one of them.</p><p>Thinking the battle was won, Richie turned to leave. Before she really knew what she was about, Tessa had swung her hairbrush in a downward arc that landed across the seat of Richie's jeans with a resounding thwap.</p><p>"Ow!" he shouted, spinning around to face her again. "What was that for?" he asked, indignantly, his hands automatically going to the injured area to prevent any further attacks.</p><p>"That," Tessa began, after taking a calming breath, "was for intentionally putting yourself in danger....again."</p><p>"You're not an Immortal, you know," she continued, pointing the brush in his direction to emphasize her point, "if you get killed, you'll stay dead. No magical recovery, no second chance." She was nearly shouting herself and Richie winced at the barely controlled anger directed his way.</p><p>"I know that, Tessa," he said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation.</p><p>"You know, but it doesn't stop you. You just continue to act recklessly." She had started pacing back and forth in front of the chagrined teenager, attempting to work off a little of her not inconsiderable French temper.</p><p>Richie frowned. It was bad enough that Mac would read him the riot act when he got home and found out what had happened, he sure hadn't counted on Tessa lecturing him, too. His attempted good deeds always landed him in trouble, somehow. Didn't seem to stop him from trying, though.</p><p>"I just wanted to help," he muttered. "That medallion means a lot to you guys."</p><p>Tessa stopped pacing and stood with hands on hips directly in front of him. "Yes, the medallion means a lot to us. But how do you think Duncan and I would have felt if you had managed to get it back, but were hurt badly? How much do you think we would have cherished it then?"</p><p>Richie hadn't really thought about that. He hadn't really thought about anything but the looks on their faces when they got the necklace back. Somehow the idea of his getting hurt hadn't even entered into it. It should have, with his luck. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking it through a little better and looked up to find Tessa studying him closely.</p><p>"You're right, Tess. I'm sorry," he said, sincerely. "I guess I just wanted to be the one to fix things this time. You know, Richie Ryan to the rescue." He gave a small laugh at this own naiveté before turning serious again. "You can hit me again, if it'll make you feel better," he offered, eyeing the hairbrush like one would a poisonous snake.</p><p>Tessa's anger left her so suddenly she had to take a deep breath to steady herself.</p><p>"Richie," she said on a sigh, "I don't want to hit you." She realized the hairbrush was still in her hand and tossed it aside. "I didn't *want* to hit you in the first place, it's just that sometimes you make me so crazy."</p><p>He had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Yeah, I do that to people." He gave her a lop-sided smile.</p><p>"Yes, you do that to people," she agreed, and smiled for the first time since he'd walked in.</p><p>"Thanks," Richie said, arching an eyebrow at her.</p><p>Tessa laughed and reached over to lift a lock of hair out of his face. "You also make them smile, and laugh, and forget for a while that the world is sometimes a very cruel place. That's a rare talent, you know."</p><p>"Yeah, right. Richie Ryan, comic relief." There was a hint of bitterness in that statement that a stranger would have missed.</p><p>Tessa was no stranger.</p><p>"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. The luncheon at Maison Blue was awful. What do you say to corned beef on rye?" she asked by way of a peace offering.</p><p>"Yeah, I guess I could eat something." </p><p>Richie's appetite was an ongoing source of amusement for both Tessa and Mac, who found keeping the pantry stocked a never-ending battle with a teenager in the house.</p><p>Tessa prepared the sandwiches while Richie found the potato chips. He grabbed a coke for himself, a Perrier for Tessa and a couple of glasses.</p><p>"So what are your plans tonight," Tessa inquired, as she placed their plates on the table.</p><p>"Nothing heavy. Angie and I are gonna catch a movie later at the mall." He dug into his meal with relish. "You and the Lord and Master going out?"</p><p>"No, not tonight. He'll be back from the auction by five so we'll all have an early dinner before you leave for the show. How does swordfish and russet potatoes sound?"</p><p>"Great," he replied, with forced enthusiasm. He would have preferred steak, but Tessa was on a seafood kick and seemed determined to get him hooked on the stuff as well. It didn't hurt him any, and it made her happy, so what the heck. True to form, Richie kept up a steady stream of conversation throughout the remainder of the meal.</p><p>—————————</p><p>Although Richie had worked things out with Tessa, he still had Duncan to deal with and after the last time the Highlander had bawled him out for going off on his own like this, he wasn't looking forward to seeing him. Come to think of it, the last stunt he'd pulled was pretty tame compared to this one, at least he hadn't broken any laws that time. Reckless driving, maybe, but then they didn't know about that.</p><p>Tessa said that Duncan was due in around five, so Richie decided to leave early for his movie date with Angie. He'd bum around town until time to pick her up and stay out until he was sure Mac and Tessa would be asleep. Of course, he'd have to face Mac sooner or later, but better later than sooner in his opinion. Besides, there was always a chance that Tessa wouldn't tell him. Yeah, right. She wouldn't cover for him on this one, not after his near fatal run-in with 'The Scalper'. She'd never forget that, and he couldn't blame her.</p><p>Of course the best laid plans........</p><p>A shipment of Inca statuettes came in late, and he couldn't very well leave Tessa alone to handle it-some of those pieces were pretty heavy. Then two customers came into the shop at the same time (an unheard of occurrence in his memory) and he took care of one while Tess handled the other. By the time he finished up it was ten to five and he was ready to beat-feet it out of there. Tessa had finished with her customer and was already back in her workshop. It was now or never.</p><p>Richie scrawled out a hasty explanation for missing dinner and stuck it to the fridge before grabbing his jacket from his room and heading out. He was almost to the door when a familiar voice echoed through the store.</p><p>"Richie!"</p><p>The teenager stopped dead in his tracks. "Damn. Why does he always have to be on time," he thought, sourly, and quickened his pace to the door.</p><p>"There you are," MacLeod commented, striding into the room.</p><p>"Hey, Mac. Gee is it that time already? Boy time really flies, huh? Gotta date...gotta go."</p><p>This came out at the speed of light and Duncan had to blink a few times as the words all seemed to reach him at once.</p><p>"See ya!" Richie called out, the doorknob turning in his hand.</p><p>"Richie, I'd like to talk to you."</p><p>It didn't really sound like a request to Richie, but it wasn't easy to stop the Ryan momentum once he got going.</p><p>"Sorry, Mac. Don't want to be late, you know how women are."</p><p>He started to pull the door open, but a hand resting against it defeated all his efforts. He looked up into the dark countenance of Duncan MacLeod.</p><p>"I'm sure she'll wait," he said, looking at Richie knowingly. "Right now, you and I need to talk."</p><p>Duncan took his hand off the door and started toward the kitchen. Richie sighed heavily before following him, muttering under his breath and motioning to no one as he went. "Five minutes, five lousy minutes, that's all I ask, but noooo, the kid doesn't get a break. Tessa's home when she's *not" supposed to be, Mac's home when he *is* supposed to be, isn't there any consistency in this house?"</p><p>When they reached the kitchen Mac helped himself to some grapes from a bowl on the center island while Richie stood a few feet away looking decidedly uncomfortable.</p><p>"Why don't you tell me what you've been up to today," Duncan said, conversationally.</p><p>"Didn't Tessa tell you?" Richie asked, warily.</p><p>As a matter of fact, Tessa had told him everything in minute detail before he'd even gotten his coat off, working herself up all over again. MacLeod had been all for letting it go until after dinner, but his better half insisted that he talk to Richie now, this very minute. She knew how Richie worked. He'd have them all laughing before the meal was over and Duncan would end up letting him off the hook. He could deny it all he wanted to..the fact was that men were as bad as boys sometimes.</p><p>"Mmmm, Tessa had a few things to say about your 'activities' today."</p><p>"Yeah, I'll bet," Richie said, unhappily.</p><p>Duncan gave up his calm facade, resting his hands on the counter and looking steadily at the teenager. "Sit down, Richie."</p><p>The boy slid into a chair at the table, wincing slightly as he made contact with the hard wooden seat (Tessa's hairbrush had left quite an impression on him) and studied the macramé placemat until he couldn't stand the silence any longer and blurted out everything.</p><p>"Okay, so I was stupid, really stupid. I took a big risk and I was just lucky I wasn't hurt, but, come on Mac, you would have done the same thing if you were me."</p><p>"Richie...," Duncan started, but the boy cut him off.</p><p>"I just wanted to do something for you guys. You know, try to pay you back a little for everything you've done for me. What's wrong with that?"</p><p>Duncan ran his hand across his eyes in a tired gesture. "Richie," he groaned, "there's nothing wrong with trying to help a friend, it's the way you go about it that worries me."</p><p>"But, Mac, you.."</p><p>"We're not talking about me," MacLeod said, his voice firm. "There's a big difference between what I have to do sometimes to protect others or myself, and what you did today."</p><p>Richie didn't see much difference, but wisely kept his mouth shut anyway.</p><p>"And Tessa and I don't expect you to try and repay us for anything. You're here because we want you to be here and for no other reason," he explained patiently. "Besides, you repay us every day in ways you don't even comprehend."</p><p>"Yeah, like taking out the trash and running errands," he replied, sarcastically.</p><p>"Richie," MacLeod said with a good deal less patience, "those aren't the kinds of things I'm talking about...and if you think all of this is getting you off the hook for sticking your neck out this afternoon, you've got a big surprise coming your way."</p><p>"This is great, just great," Richie muttered, shaking his head. "Try to do a good deed, and what happens...you get lectured all day long. Maybe I'd have been better off if he was a good shot," he said, absently fingering the bandage on his arm.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Richie groaned and closed his eyes as he realized what he'd just said. Sometimes his mouth was so far ahead of his brain it scared him.</p><p>"Mac," he began, after opening his eyes again.</p><p>"Call Angie and tell her you can't make it tonight." His tone didn't brook any argument.</p><p>"What? Why?" Richie asked.</p><p>"This little talk just escalated into a major discussion, and I wouldn't plan on going anywhere for a while if I were you."</p><p>———————</p><p>Tessa had been absolutely livid when Duncan relayed the news that Richie's 'little scratch' was actually a bullet graze and had actually gone in search of her hairbrush. Mac seemed amused at her solution to Richie's willfulness, and that amusement eventually infected her as well.</p><p>"Well, what are we supposed to do with him?" she asked him, serious again. "He's just like a hyperactive puppy," she went on, "always into something he shouldn't be, wanting to eat at all hours. And just when you want to find a rolled up newspaper to swat him with, he looks up at you with those big eyes or makes you laugh over something outrageous and you fall in love with him all over again."</p><p>"Puppy love, Tessa?" Duncan teased, smiling.</p><p>She smacked at him, playfully. "You know what I mean."</p><p>"Yes, I know what you mean, Tess, but some of what you're talking about is just part of being young, and the rest is part of being Richie. We can't do much about the first, and, even if we could, do you really *want* to do anything about the second?"</p><p>She eyed him with lips pursed. "Duncan MacLeod, are you always right about everything?"</p><p>Duncan smiled back impishly. "Well, not always, then again...."</p><p>Tessa cut him off with a kiss. By the time they broke apart, their moods had improved significantly.</p><p>"Mmmm," Tessa murmured against Duncan's chest, "I suppose we'd better start dinner before he decides we're trying to starve him as some sort of punishment."</p><p>"We wouldn't want that. Of course you could always fix your spinach soufflé again, that would teach him a lesson.. ouch!" Tessa slapped him again, a little less playfully this time and stalked off toward the kitchen with him trailing along behind, rubbing his arm and trying not to smile.</p><p>"Was it something I said?"</p><p>Dinner was a quiet affair. Richie didn't open his mouth once, afraid that either Mac or Tessa would jump down his throat again. He felt bad about all the drama he'd caused, but he'd probably do it all over again. They weren't going to thank him, but that wasn't why he'd done it. He'd done it because he'd wanted to see the looks on their faces when they got the medallion back. The looks he'd gotten so far weren't exactly what he'd pictured.</p><p>He eyed the rolls, longingly, but they were next to Tessa and he wasn't about to ask her for them. He'd had just about all the withering looks he could handle for one night. That's all he'd been getting from Tessa ever since Mac had explained a few things to her in private. She was mad that he'd lied to her about his arm. Okay, he could handle that, but he wished she'd just yell at him again and get it over with. The silence in here was deafening.</p><p>"How were you planning on giving us the necklace without telling us where you got it?"</p><p>The question came from Duncan, and it took him by surprise.</p><p>"Huh? Oh....well, I wasn't planning on giving it to you."</p><p>The couple looked confused and he corrected himself. "I mean, I was going to sort of find it on the floor partially underneath the couch or something. You know, like it had been dropped during the robbery."</p><p>"You wouldn't get any credit for retrieving it that way," Duncan said, studying the teenager carefully.</p><p>"Wouldn't get my head chewed off, either," Richie said, morosely.</p><p>Duncan ignored that. "Why Richie?"</p><p>The boy didn't pretend to misunderstand. "It was a symbol, you said. The shop would come and go, friends would come and go, but you'd always have a symbol of something that would last forever," he repeated the older man's words and looked up to find both adults regarding him with odd expressions. "I guess I didn't say it right," he said, shrugging in embarrassment.</p><p>"Yes, you did," Tessa said, smiling at him.</p><p>He blinked in surprise and looked over to Mac for an explanation, but the Highlander was smiling, too. Richie's gaze slipped back and forth between the two before he shrugged again and went back to toying with his food and trying to understand his older friends.</p><p>"Ice cream!" Duncan said, suddenly, startling the other two.</p><p>"What?" Tessa and Richie asked in unison.</p><p>"Ice cream," Duncan said, again.</p><p>"Ice cream," Richie repeated, with eyebrow raised, "as in dessert?"</p><p>"Right. I say we give up on the main course and go pick up some." Duncan smiled at them, conspiratorially. "I'm buying," he threw in as an added incentive.</p><p>"Rocky Road?" This from Richie, who'd eat junk food all day long if they let him.</p><p>"Sounds good to me. Tessa?" MacLeod prodded, as they both looked at her expectantly.</p><p>She didn't like to see good food go to waste but she understood what Duncan was trying to do and, of course, there was the hopeful look on Richie's face.</p><p>"Can I get Lemon Chiffon?" she asked with a coquettish smile.</p><p>"I think we can manage that," Duncan replied with an answering smile.</p><p>Nobody's smile matched Richie's, though. "I'll get the car," he said and jumped to his feet.</p><p>"Richie," Mac's voice pulled him up short, "haven't you forgotten something?"</p><p>Richie looked back at him, uncertainly.</p><p>Duncan returned the look blankly before holding up his hand with the T-bird keys dangling from it. He tossed the keys to Richie, who's face lit up.</p><p>"Thanks, Mac," he said, before running out.</p><p>————————</p><p>Tuesday was a completely uneventful day, for which Duncan and Tessa were extremely grateful. After their late night of ice cream and bad jokes (courtesy of Richie and Mac, who seemed to have a competition going in that area, much to Tessa's chagrin) everyone was back to their contented selves. Duncan had *suggested* to Richie that he not leave the shop all day, a suggestion Richie took to heart considering the black look that had gone along with it, and had spent the greater part of the day categorizing the backroom-a job he hated. Duncan rescued him for lunch around noon, and the teenager complained about getting stuck with the drudge work all the way to the kitchen, his earlier good mood having been lost amidst the boxes, crates and packing lists.</p><p>"I'm telling you, Mac, there's enough dust back there to choke a horse."</p><p>"If you're volunteering to clean up, Rich, I know where you can find a duster," Duncan offered.</p><p>"Gee, thanks." Richie favored him with one of his long-suffering faces, before following him into the kitchen. Mac stepped aside to give him an unencumbered view of the table and watched as the boy's mouth dropped open.</p><p>Tessa had really outdone herself, fixing all of Richie's favorites-chili dogs, cheeseburgers and French fries with a pile of Hostess fruit pies in the center of the table (a personal favorite of his that was normally banned from the house because of the rate that he consumed them).</p><p>Tessa was standing by the table in a teal sweater which brought out the color of her eyes and also provided the perfect background for the medallion hanging from the platinum chain around her neck.</p><p>"I hope everyone's hungry," she said behind a brilliant smile.</p><p>Richie just continued to stare at her and the feast set before him until Duncan reached over and pushed his chin up, closing the boy's mouth. He put his arm around Richie's shoulders and led him to his chair before pulling Tessa's back from the table for her.</p><p>As the three sat down, Richie looked across at her and smiled. "I thought you only wore it on special occasions."</p><p>"That's right," she answered, simply.</p><p>He looked down at the spread before him. "You cooked all this?"</p><p>"Cooked? No, of course not, I just snapped my fingers and 'voila'."</p><p>"Voila?" Duncan repeated.</p><p>"It's French, Duncan," Tessa responded, before she and Richie shared a look and burst out laughing.</p><p>Duncan regarded the jovial pair from beneath hooded brows and tried to look forbidding. He failed miserably as their renewed peals of laughter told him.</p><p>Once Richie got himself under control he dove into the food with a vengeance, eating more than his two companions put together. Tessa tried to convince him to slow down, but Richie just mumbled around a mouthful of chili dog and added another fruit pie to the pile on his plate.</p><p>Duncan left for Everett as soon as they'd finished and Richie volunteered to clean up the kitchen while Tessa adjourned to her studio. He was putting the leftover hot dogs away when he noticed the note Tessa had stuck to the refrigerator as a reminder. It read 'vase to museum-seven o'clock'.</p><p>He suddenly felt sick to his stomach as he recalled a message he was supposed to have given her earlier.</p><p>Richie found Tessa working on a metal works project in her studio. She was covered with a sheen of sweat which only seemed to enhance her natural beauty, and he couldn't help smiling at her as she swore under her breath while trying to fit a clamp over a certain section. The language didn't fit in with her sweet appearance at all.</p><p>His smile disappeared as he remembered why he was there. "Uh, Tess?"</p><p>"Yes, what is it Richie? Can't you see I'm busy?" The clamp slipped, and she swore, again.</p><p>"Um, yeah sorry, but there's something I have to tell you."</p><p>Tessa flipped her hair out of her face and looked up at him, annoyed.</p><p>Richie just looked back at her, at a loss for words. That didn't happen very often, but Tessa wasn't in the mood to appreciate it.</p><p>"Well?" she prompted, exasperated with him and everything else at the moment.</p><p>Richie took a deep breath and plunged in.</p><p>"Remember the Ming vase we're supposed to delivery to the exhibition?"</p><p>"Yes, of course," she replied, bending back to her work. "By seven o'clock. We have plenty of time to get it there."</p><p>"Not really."</p><p>"What?" Tessa asked, distractedly. She didn't bother to look up this time.</p><p>"They, uh, they moved up the opening to five o'clock and they want it there by three."</p><p>"They what!"</p><p>He had her undivided attention now. "How can they do that? That only gives us an hour to deliver it!"</p><p>"Twenty-four hours, actually," Richie said.</p><p>Tessa glared at him. "Richie, make sense. It's almost two now. How does that give us twenty-four hours?"</p><p>Richie looked like he wanted to sink through the floor. "On account of they called about it yesterday afternoon," he admitted, sheepishly.</p><p>"You took the call." This was not a question.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm sorry, Tess, but I got busy with other stuff and I forgot."</p><p>Tessa looked daggers at the teenager. "Yes, and we all know what the other 'stuff' was, don't we?" She was referring to his little 'breaking and entering' escapade, which was still a sore subject.</p><p>Richie was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, for once.</p><p>Tessa started muttering in a combination of French and English and strode purposely from the room. Richie caught something about a puppy and newspaper before shrugging and trailing along behind.</p><p>"Duncan won't be home for another hour," she was saying, "and I can't possibly get there and back before the Johansons' come by to look at that Fuccini piece."</p><p>"I can take it, Tess," Richie offered, hopefully.</p><p>"Richie, if you think this is your chance to borrow my car again, forget it. You're still on restriction in that area for another week."</p><p>Tessa was referring to a little misunderstanding they had had some weeks ago regarding his borrowing her car under questionable circumstances, and his subsequent status as a non-Mercedes driver for a month.</p><p>"No, Tessa, I can take my bike."</p><p>"Richie, that vase won't be any good to the museum *or* us if it's broken into little pieces."</p><p>"I'll be really careful with it, Tess," he promised faithfully. "I'll treat it like it was worth my life if anything happened to it."</p><p>She came to stand almost nose to nose with him. "It will be," she said, ominously.</p><p>Richie swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat. "Yeah," he agreed.</p><p>Tessa spent the next ten minutes preparing the vase for transport. Wrapping and re-wrapping it until she thought it was safe from even Richie's driving.</p><p>"Now, no speeding, and no weaving in and out of traffic" she instructed him as he fastened the box onto the seat. "Stick to the main roads, they're in better shape, and don't stop anywhere along the way."</p><p>"I know, Tess, I know." He had been down this road with her and Mac a hundred times. They acted like he was ten years old, sometimes.</p><p>"You remember where the museum is, don't you?"</p><p>Richie looked skyward and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Yes, I remember where the museum is. Geez, Tessa."</p><p>He climbed on his motorcycle and grabbed his old, battered helmet. The last time he dumped his bike it had ended up with a bad crack that ran three quarters of the way around it.</p><p>Tessa took it away from him and examined it scornfully. "This thing has seen better days. Where's the new helmet you were going to buy?"</p><p>Richie retrieved it from her and shrugged. "Haven't gotten around to it yet. Besides these things aren't cheap." He slipped the helmet on and said in parting, "anyway, I'm a good driver."</p><p>Tessa made an unpleasant noise at that which was lost in the roar of the bike starting up.</p><p>"Come straight back," she shouted. "No detours."</p><p>Richie gave her a thumbs up sign and sped away.</p><p>Neither of them noticed the dark blue sedan that pulled away from the curb as the boy passed.</p><p>Richie did notice the car in his rear-view mirror a few times but didn't think anything of it. Especially when it turned off about a block before Crestview and Maple. Besides he was busy keeping his eye on the road, watching for potholes and uneven pavement. If he so much as put a chip in this vase, Tessa would skin him alive and hang him out to dry.</p><p>The light at the intersection changed to green as he approached it and Richie smiled at his good luck. There was little traffic at this time of day and he was making good time. He might actually have the vase there early.</p><p>As he started across Maple, he saw a blue blur in his peripheral vision, and turned his head just in time to see the blue sedan bearing down on him. Years of developing quick reflexes had him gunning the engine and popping the bike up on it's rear wheel to clear the car's path. </p><p>He almost made it.</p><p>The sedan caught the rear tire of the motorcycle and the bike did an oddly graceful pirouette before spinning into the side of the speeding car and becoming airborne. It did a 180 degree turn before plummeting back to earth-minus it's driver.</p><p>Richie's last thought before losing his grip on both the bike and reality was that his insurance would probably double now. Then he hit the sidewalk with a sickening thud and bright lights exploded behind his eyelids. Somewhere in the distance he heard the loud scrape of metal being forcefully reshaped and winced in reflex.</p><p>He could hear people shouting and someone screamed, but he couldn't seem to lift his head, and taking a deep breath sent a sharp spasm of pain through his ribcage. He managed to open his eyes and looked up into the face of a man sitting in a blue sedan not five feet away. The man smiled at him, a knowing smile, and sped away in a cloud of dirt and burned rubber.</p><p>Richie's last coherent thought before the blackness reached up and grabbed him was that he had seen the man somewhere before.</p><p>——————————</p><p>"Where is he?" Tessa muttered for the dozenth time since Duncan had gotten home and found her pacing back and forth in her studio. "I told him to come straight home. If he's gone off somewhere with a friend I'm going to strangle him."</p><p>Duncan wasn't sure if this was an idle threat or not, given Tessa's current mood. Richie had been treading on thin ice with her for several weeks now, and was in danger of feeling the brunt of her full-blown French temper. Duncan had only seen it once or twice before, and it wasn't pretty.</p><p>"Calm down, Tessa," he said, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "he probably just got stuck in traffic. It's rush hour, remember?"</p><p>Tessa shrugged off his hands and spun around to face him. "It is now, but it wasn't an hour ago when he should have been home. You didn't have any trouble getting here on time."</p><p>Duncan opened his mouth to try another reasonable explanation, but she cut him off. She was in no mood to be reasonable.</p><p>"Don't try and cover for him, either. He's been getting away with too much lately, what with that innocent smile and big blue eyes of his and it's about time that Mr. Richie Ryan finds out what it's like to tow the line around here."</p><p>Mac knew when to back off and let her anger run it's course. He was about to suggest that they start dinner when the phone rang.</p><p>"I'll get it," Tessa said, still furious, "and if it's a certain teenager I have a few choice words for him."</p><p>Duncan got to the phone before her and held up his hand as she bore down on him.</p><p>"Now, Tessa, it's probably a customer, and you don't want to discuss art the way you're feeling. I'll take it."</p><p>She silently agreed with his logic, but stood ready to do battle if it turned out to be their young redhead.</p><p>"Hello, Antiques. Yes, this is Duncan MacLeod. Yes. Yes I understand." Mac had turned away from Tessa so she couldn't see his face, but the timbre of his voice frightened her. "We'll be right there. ICU. Yes. Thank you."</p><p>Tessa grabbed his arm as he hung up the phone, her earlier anger forgotten. "Duncan, what is it?"</p><p>"Richie. There's been an accident." He was trying to hide his fear, with only a modicum of success.</p><p>"Bad?" She held her breath waiting for his answer.</p><p>"They wouldn't say, just that he's in the Intensive Care Unit."</p><p>"Let's go," she said, already rushing for the door.</p><p>——————</p><p>They arrived at the hospital in record time, despite rush hour traffic. Duncan driving with a stone-face, and Tessa strangely silent as well.</p><p>When they arrived at ICU a Doctor Madison introduced himself and had them sit down while he explained Richie's condition.</p><p>"Overall, he was very lucky. Broken left arm, two cracked ribs, a number of cuts and contusions. All of which will heal in time."</p><p>Duncan wasn't reassured. "You said 'overall he was lucky'. You wouldn't have him in ICU for cracked ribs."</p><p>Madison developed an immediate respect for the other man.</p><p>"No, you're right, we wouldn't." He looked from Duncan to Tessa and back again before continuing.</p><p>"The boy took a nasty blow to the back of the head. Literally shattered the helmet he was wearing."</p><p>Tessa closed her eyes as the memory of that battered helmet rose up before her. Why had she let him ride with it. She could see it would offer little protection.</p><p>"He hasn't regained consciousness since the accident and I'm afraid we've had to classify him as a coma patient."</p><p>"Coma!" Tessa cried. "But..but he'll come out of it. He'll be all right." She grabbed MacLeod's arm when the doctor just looked at her. "Duncan, say something!"</p><p>Mac took her hand in his steady grip.</p><p>"Can we see him?" he asked with a good deal more calm than he was feeling.</p><p>"Yes, of course. Don't be alarmed at his appearance. He seems to be breathing on his own, but it's standard procedure in cases like this."</p><p>Duncan was glad he'd forewarned them.</p><p>Richie was hooked up to several large machines, including, what Mac guessed was a respirator. He had IVs in both arms, a tube in his mouth and nose and a large white bandage wrapped around his head.</p><p>"I'll have the face tubes removed, now that you've signed the consent forms," the doctor was saying.</p><p>Tessa was clinging to Mac like her life depended on it and was staring at Richie in horror. "My God, Duncan."</p><p>Mac was only in a slightly less paralyzing state of shock. The boy looked like he was dead, his face so white as to hardly be detectable amongst the bandages. Only a lock of red hair could be seen at the base of the head dressings, it's deep auburn color lending a surreal quality to the picture.</p><p>"What are his chances?" Duncan asked, his voice amazingly strong.</p><p>"The coma is being caused by swelling around the brain," Madison explained clinically. "The swelling could go down by itself, in which case the boy might simply regain consciousness on his own. However," he continued, not wanting to give them any false sense of hope, "even if that should occur, there is a chance of brain damage. I won't be able to say with any certainty what the probability is until his condition is more stable. I can't risk exploratory surgery at this time. Not until at least some of the initial trauma has abated."</p><p>"And what if the swelling doesn't go down on it's own?" Mac prodded.</p><p>"We have the option of drilling a small hole in the skull to try to alleviate some of the pressure. It's successful in about thirty percent of these cases."</p><p>"These cases? These cases!" Tessa shouted, coming out of her temporary funk. "This is not a case, this is a person. A very young, very special person!"</p><p>"I'm sorry," the doctor said with practiced calm. He was used to dealing with hysterical relatives, and could well understand their pain.</p><p>"Tess," Duncan said, squeezing her hand. "He didn't mean anything. He wants Richie to get well, too."</p><p>"Yes, and we'll do everything we can to make that happen," Madison reassured them.</p><p>Tessa bowed her head. "I know, I'm sorry." She swallowed convulsively and jumped to her feet. "I need some air," she said and rushed from the room.</p><p>Mac was right behind her, turning her in his arms, gazing down at the face he knew as well as his own, and loved far better. He felt as sick as she looked. The words 'brain-damage' kept repeating in his head. To watch Richie die this young, for him to have to deal with the intrigues of being an Immortal at eighteen, was bad enough. But to live forever as what? a vegetable? that was more than he could deal with right now. He couldn't, he wouldn't let that happen, not to this boy.</p><p>"Oh, Duncan," Tessa cried softly into his shirtfront, "I was terrible to him today."</p><p>"To who, Richie?"</p><p>"I yelled at him," she sobbed, "over something trivial. I was so angry with him this evening and now..."</p><p>"Shhh. Don't think that way. He's going to be fine," Mac said with conviction. "Richie's going to be just fine," he said again, as if he were trying to convince himself as well.</p><p>Tessa raised her tear-streaked face to his.</p><p>"How do you know?" she asked, wanting so badly to believe him.</p><p>Duncan gave her a tentative smile.</p><p>"He's too stubborn to go that easily. 'Taken out by a little bump on the head? Who do you think you're talking to?" Mac said in his best 'indignant Richie Ryan' voice.</p><p>Tessa laughed in spite of herself, and tried to return his smile.</p><p>"Yes, to die doing something so trivial as making a delivery would be 'like, way un-cool," she added, her French accent at odds with the American slang, and managed the smile this time.</p><p>Duncan gave her his handkerchief and waited while she dried her face. "Feel better?"</p><p>"Yes." She was more her usual composed self, now. "Let's go back in."</p><p>————————</p><p>They kept a vigil at Richie's bedside until late into the night. MacLeod finally dragging Tessa out around one a.m. after she fell asleep in her chair. Neither slept well once in their own bed, however, and he began to wish he had remained at the hospital. At least there one of them had gotten some rest. They both stumbled out of bed bleary-eyed in the morning, eating a makeshift breakfast in silence before returning to the hospital.</p><p>There was no change, and they really hadn't expected any. The doctor had warned them that even if the swelling did subside on its own, it would be a slow process.</p><p>They stayed in ICU until the doctor shooed them out, commenting that they needed rest if they were going to be any good to Richie or themselves. </p><p>Duncan reluctantly agreed, and they drove home in an exhausted silence.</p><p>The first thing Tessa noticed upon entering the store was the red light on the answering machine. She hit the 'play' button with a shaky hand, fearing it was the hospital with bad news. She was startled to hear Angie's voice.</p><p>"Hey, Richie, it's me. You owe me a movie. I got the night off so call me when you get back. Where are you, anyway? Call me."</p><p>It was only then that Tessa realized they hadn't notified any of Richie's friends. It was a task she wasn't sure she could handle at the moment, but Angie, at least, deserved to know.</p><p>The girl took the news calmly, but Tessa got the impression that she was putting on a brave front. After all, it had been less than six months since her and Richie's friend Gary had died unexpectantly. Tessa wondered how much more pain these kids would have to endure in the days to come.</p><p>Angie promised to go to the hospital right away, and Tessa felt better about leaving.</p><p>She and Duncan slept for a few hours, ate a hasty lunch and arrived back in Intensive Care around two o'clock. True to her word, Angie was at Richie's bedside, having lied her way in claiming to be his half-sister. She was staring at Richie with a vacant expression that alarmed them both.</p><p>Angie looked as if she had lost her best friend. Tessa felt sick to her stomach as she realized how easily that could become a reality.</p><p>Seeming to follow her thoughts, Duncan draped his arm around her shoulders and led her to Angie's side.</p><p>"Any change?" he asked, quietly.</p><p>Angie looked up at him with eyes wide. "No, no change," she said, blinking rapidly in a vain attempt to hold back tears.</p><p>"I never do this," she told them as she hastily wiped a tear away as it escaped to run down her cheek.</p><p>"I don't think he'll mind," Duncan reassured her with a small smile.</p><p>"Yeah, well, he'd better not," she replied, fiercely. "You know how many hours I've spent in emergency rooms waiting while he got stitched up after dumping his bike? Take it easy, I keep telling him, but does he ever listen? Hell, no." Her tears were flowing down her face unnoticed. "Big, dumb jerk," she finished, sniffling loudly.</p><p>Tessa put her arms around the weeping girl and steered her away from the bed.</p><p>"Duncan and I will sit with him. You look worn out, Angie. I don't want you to come back until you get some rest, all right?"</p><p>Angie nodded, absently before gazing back toward the bed. She reached into the pocket of her jeans jacket.</p><p>"Richie wanted me to give this to you if he.. if he ever..."</p><p>"Angie, what is it?" Tessa asked, concerned.</p><p>"Here," Angie said, thrusting a cassette into her hands and rushing from the room in tears.</p><p>——————-</p><p>Tessa was unnaturally quiet on the ride home. Duncan let her have her space knowing she would tell him what was bothering her when she was ready. He didn't have to wait long.</p><p>As they entered the shop, he tossed his coat on the couch and sat down heavily. It had been a long day, but he knew sleep would not come easily tonight, not with Richie on his mind. Tessa came and sat beside him, looking at him for the first time since leaving the hospital.</p><p>"Angie gave me this," she said, holding the cassette in her open hand. "She said Richie asked her to give it to us if anything happened to him."</p><p>Duncan took the cassette from her and looked at it closely. "It's not marked." The couple stared at it uncertainly until Duncan broke the silence.</p><p>"I guess there's only one way to find out." So saying he rose and walked over to the stereo, opened the case and inserted the cassette. It seemed to Tessa that he hesitated a moment before hitting 'play', but maybe she was projecting her own nervousness to him.</p><p>Mac returned to her side and settled himself on the arm of the couch as Richie's first words came through the speakers.</p><p>"Um, right, where to start? Okay, well, if you guys are listening to this I must have cashed it in." There was a nervous laugh and then he continued. "No big loss, I mean just one less punk kid in the world, right?"</p><p>Mac's face tightened up at this, but the tape played on, oblivious to his ire.</p><p>"Anyway, I've got some things I want to say." Another laugh, this one more relaxed. "So what else is new, huh?"</p><p>Tessa's face twitched as she fought off a smile. How many times had she accused Richie of having something to say on just about any subject.</p><p>"I, uh, I want to thank you guys—for everything." Richie's voice sounded embarrassed, as if he were having a hard time getting the words out.</p><p>"You've both been great, really great. I mean, nobody ever treated me like you two do...did," he corrected. "I've been trying to say this for a long time, but, you know, it's hard. Maybe I finally got around to it. That's okay, I guess you can't say thanks enough."</p><p>"I owe you two a lot. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't know what having a family feels like." This was followed by dead silence and Duncan thought the tape had stopped, but then Richie continued.</p><p>"Okay, so we're not really family. I know...but sometimes I think this must be what it feels like when you have one."</p><p>Tessa took an unsteady breath and Duncan looked over to see tears running silently down her face. He reached over and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He wasn't feeling too steady himself.</p><p>"I'm not really sure why you guys took me in.. or why you didn't toss me out the first time I messed up. I figured you would one day, once you came to your senses." Another laugh, this one sounded so Richie-like that Mac looked around for the boy before he could catch himself.</p><p>"You know," the voice continued, sounding quite stern now, "you two gotta be more careful. I mean, I could have robbed you blind. You left me alone with all that pricey stuff after only a week. I mean, come oooon, what are you, stupid? Nobody in their right minds would trust a kid like me around expensive junk, I mean 'art'." This last was said with more than a little sarcasm, and Duncan smiled in spite of himself.</p><p>"Anyway, remember that the next time you decide to play Father Flanagan, okay, Mac. I mean, anything could happen and I won't be around to watch out for you guys."</p><p>"Okay....Tessa," Richie's sigh could be heard clearly through the speakers. "You're beautiful, and I don't mean outside. Okay, you're beautiful there, too, but I'm talking about inside, where it counts. I mean, how many successful women would let their boyfriend bring some kid in off the street? Into your home where he's always in the way when you want to be alone. All right, so I knew when to disappear when you two got that sappy look, or how to keep clear of the living room when the shower was running. And who's stupid idea was it to put a glass shower there in the first place? Pretty kinky, if you ask me."</p><p>As usual, Richie had gone off on a tangent and for awhile both Tessa and Mac could smile and forget the current situation. Richie was good at helping them do that—finding the humor in even the most serious events. Funny that he should try to do that, even in death.</p><p>"Mac...geez, what do you say to a guy who's immortal? In four hundred years you've heard it all. Okay, so this won't be original, but it comes from the heart." He paused here, is if trying to find the right words. "Thanks. Thanks for believing in me. Nobody's ever done that before and it means a lot."</p><p>"And Tessa, if my checking out had anything to do with one of Mac's *old* friends, don't let him blame himself. You know how he is, thinks he's supposed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I mean, geez Mac, sometimes shit happens."</p><p>"Okay, as far as my stuff goes...I want Angie to have my bike and maybe you could give my stereo to Gary's little brother, I don't think he has one. The rest of it you could maybe give to a charity or something...whatever. Oh, I want Angie to have my leather jacket, too. It'll be a little big on her but she won't mind."</p><p>This last had Tessa tearing up, again. Richie was wearing that jacket when he crashed and it was stained with blood. Stains that would never come out.</p><p>"Oh, yeah...I guess there's something I should tell you." His voice sounded a little timid, which in Mac's experience meant he had done something he shouldn't have.</p><p>"Remember the night you two went to that benefit at Chausen's? Well...I kind of borrowed the T-bird. No big deal," he was quick to add, "I just wanted to show it off to some of the guys in the old neighborhood." There was a chagrined sigh, then "I know I'm not supposed to take it without permission, but you never give me permission, Mac, and I knew you'd never find out so I figured, why not?" Logic only a teenager could understand.</p><p>Duncan was regarding the stereo grimly, his fingers tapping out a rhythm on the side table.</p><p>"So everything's going great, right? I drive the guys around awhile, drop them off and go home. But, uh, I guess, maybe I got a little too close to the dumpster when I backed in and I, uh, kind of put an itty-bitty dent in the right rear fender."</p><p>Tessa had to fight to contain a smile as she looked over at Duncan. He had accused her of over-reacting a few weeks ago when Richie had borrowed her Mercedes without permission to take his girlfriend to dinner. She had merely suspended his driving privileges for a month. Duncan looked as if he would prefer something much more physical.</p><p>"Well, when this you see, remember me." There was an embarrassed clearing of his throat before Richie threw in "man I hope you don't get this tape by accident or I really am dead."</p><p>Duncan nodded, in total agreement with that statement.</p><p>"If that doesn't leave a lasting impression, there's also a small chip at the base of the Dresden plate in the display case. Sorry, Tess, but it slipped," he confessed with obvious discomfort. "I told you guys having me around pricey stuff wasn't a good idea."</p><p>Tessa had joined Duncan in the finger-tapping department.</p><p>"I suppose that's one way to be remembered, huh? But, hey, Mac, maybe thirty or forty years from now you'll see some guy on a motorcycle and remember that kid you knew for awhile. You know...red hair, blue eyes...laughed a lot. What was his name?" Richie laughed again, but there was no humor in it. Something else was there, though. Fear, Duncan thought. He was afraid that no one would remember a kid with no real past to speak of...and maybe no future.</p><p>It was a realistic fear, but it made Duncan angry just the same.</p><p>Tessa, too. She was frowning at the stereo as if it were a live thing that she was about to vent her spleen on.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Richie said in a voice that didn't sound at all like Richie Ryan, fender-denter and plate-chipper. "I'm real sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I'm sorry that sometimes I didn't listen to you when you told me to stay put..."</p><p>"Sometimes?" Duncan muttered.</p><p>"...and I'm sorry for mouthing off when I should have kept quiet. I don't know why I'm such a wiseass sometimes," he admitted to them, and himself. "Hey," he added with a laugh, "maybe it's insecurity."</p><p>Richie didn't realize just how accurate that statement was. Duncan and Tessa did. They had seen him use humor to cover fear and insecurity for months. It was one of the reasons they were both so protective of him. He'd never had anyone, acted like he didn't need anyone. And he did, badly.</p><p>"Well, this has taken longer than I figured, so I'd better go before I run out of tape. You two take care of each other." It was quiet a moment and then "I...uh, well...you know."</p><p>It sounded as if he had signed off then..."Hey, Mac—watch your head!"</p><p>Neither Duncan nor Tessa moved to stop the tape, both lost in their own thoughts. Richie had managed to make them run the emotional gauntlet. Laughter, tears, anger and back again, and they were both exhausted from the experience.</p><p>——————-It rained all day Thursday, seemingly in empathy with everyone's mood. Duncan and Tessa went to the hospital in shifts while trying to deal with follow-up visits by the police and in an attempt to tie up some other loose ends as well. </p><p>Angie made an appearance during her lunch break with five or six of Richie's other friends in tow and seemed in better spirits than the previous night. Nicki called the Antique store that afternoon and planned to drive out from Danville with Melinda that weekend. In the meantime, Richie's room was filling up with flowers and cards and Duncan and Tessa wondered, not for the first time, just how many lives Richie had touched. Getting him to talk about his life before they met him was like pulling teeth, but little by little pieces of the Ryan puzzle were falling into place.</p><p>It was much later that evening that Tessa and Duncan found themselves alone by Richie's bedside.</p><p>"He's so still," Tessa said, barely above a whisper. "It frightens me, Duncan."</p><p>Mac squeezed her hand, but said nothing. Truth be told, the boy's complete lack of movement scared him, as well.</p><p>"Do you really think he'll come out of it?" she asked, needing his strength again.</p><p>"He's got to," he said, distractedly, then more clearly, "he's a fighter, Tessa. He's had to be to survive this long." Duncan shook his head. "Richie's not going to give up. We're not going to let him."</p><p>Tessa gave his hand an answering squeeze. "I heard one of the nurses say that some people think coma patients can hear what's going on around them. Do you think he knows we're here?"</p><p>"I don't know, Tessa. I'd like to think so."</p><p>The attending ICU nurse walked in just then with a couple of nurse's assistants in tow. "Sorry to chase you out, but the doctor's ordered more tests," she apologized as another gurney was wheeled into the room.</p><p>"We should get back to the shop, anyway," Tessa said, gathering up her coat and purse. "I want to phone Angie before we go," she told Duncan. "I promised to keep her up to date while she's at work."</p><p>She turned toward the door, but, on an impulse she turned back to the bed and the still form in it. Leaning over she said very clearly, "we'll be back in the morning, Richie, and we expect to see some improvement, is that clear?"</p><p>She looked up at Duncan, who nodded and stepped up to join her. "You heard her Rich. It's time for you to wake up." He regarded the yet-to-become Immortal solemnly. "Come on toughguy, fight this."</p><p>Tessa leaned over and kissed the boy's forehead. "We love you," she whispered in his ear, her voice thick with emotion. She had never said those words to him before. It would have made him uncomfortable, she knew. But it seemed very natural to say them now.</p><p>Duncan slipped his arm around her, and together they left the room.</p><p>When Duncan and Tessa arrived at the hospital Friday morning, they were met at the door to ICU by Dr. Madison. The fact that he seemed to be expecting them sent a frission of fear through both, but before they could frame a question he took the couple in hand and pushed open the door.</p><p>"There's someone who's eager to see you," he said with a look that betrayed nothing and ushered them into the room.</p><p>Tessa entered first and stopped so suddenly that MacLeod nearly plowed into her. Dr. Madison hung back in the doorway as if he'd expected this and Duncan was about to ask Tessa what was wrong when he looked past her shoulder to the single bed in the center of the far wall and froze as well.</p><p>Tessa reached back blindly until she found his hand, grasping it firmly, and together they walked trance like to stand next to the hospital bed and gaze down at it's occupant.</p><p>Richie Ryan, free of all but one IV tube, gazed back at them.</p><p>"He came out of it around four o'clock this morning," Dr. Madison's voice informed them from his post by the door. "I didn't want to contact you until we were sure he was stable," he said, in response to the unspoken question on their faces.</p><p>Blue eyes looked up at them from an otherwise colorless face and Richie tried to summon up a smile. His attempt was nowhere near the norm but they were comforted by it just the same.</p><p>"Hey," he croaked out, grimacing as his head seemed to echo the word.</p><p>"Hey," Duncan returned, his brogue strong as it always was during highly emotional moments. He and Tessa were having no trouble at all with their own smiles.</p><p>"How do you feel?" Tessa asked softly and tentatively touched his arm where it rested atop the bedcovers.</p><p>Richie was more careful with his volume when he spoke this time. "I'm okay...I'm fine."</p><p>It was a blatant lie, but a harmless one, and the three adults in the room shared a look between them.</p><p>Richie raised a shaky hand to the bandage wrapped around his head, then lowered it slowly to his taped ribs before looking up at his friends again.</p><p>"I guess...I messed up again."</p><p>Mac frowned at that. "No, Richie, you didn't mess up. A witness said the car that hit you ran the stoplight. It wasn't your fault."</p><p>Richie's eyes fluttered, and closed, only to open again as a troubled expression crossed his unnaturally pale face. "The vase," he forced out.</p><p>"Don't worry about the vase. It's not important, understand? I don't want you to think about anything but getting well," Mac tried to reassure him.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Richie said, just above a whisper, his eyes closing again.</p><p>Mac and Tessa looked at each other, concerned, then up at the doctor who was checking Richie's vital signs.</p><p>"Pulse is steady, respiration's good," he said to no one in particular, then looked up at the worried couple. "He's just sleeping."</p><p>There was an audible sigh of relief.</p><p>"Barring complications, he should be back on his feet in a week or so. It could take a little longer. Cases like this depend a lot upon the determination of the patient," he explained.</p><p>Duncan and Tessa looked at each other and smiled, knowingly. "A week," they said, in unison.</p><p>—————————-</p><p>Richie's health improved rapidly. A mere two days after coming out of his coma, he was sitting up and eating solid foods. The day after that he decided that he was ready to leave the hospital. Unfortunately for him, no one else shared his opinion.</p><p>"Sorry, Richie, Dr. Madison said a week, minimum. It's only been three days," Duncan informed him, leaning casually against the wall of Richie's private room.</p><p>"Come on, Mac," he wheedled, "you know me, nothing can keep Richie Ryan down for long." He gave MacLeod his million-dollar smile. "Hell, I get over the twenty-four hour flu in six.. seven hours tops."</p><p>"No Richie," Duncan said, adamantly. "You're not well enough to be up and around yet."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Richie asked, defensively. "I feel fine. I'll bet I could even walk out of her on my own if I tried."</p><p>"Richie, you're not to get out of bed on your own for any reason, understand?" Duncan told him, firmly. "You're not strong enough, yet, and you could fall and undo all the good that's been done," he explained patiently.</p><p>"Sure, Mac, whatever you say," Richie agreed, a little too quickly.</p><p>Duncan wasn't convinced. "I mean it, Richie."</p><p>"I know you do, I understand," Richie assured him with an innocent expression.</p><p>Duncan frowned down at the boy. "So you'll stay put, right?"</p><p>"Right," Richie repeated in the same tone of voice.</p><p>Duncan leaned down and pinned him in placed with a look. "Right?" he said again, a warning note in his voice.</p><p>"Right," Richie repeated, blandly, and Duncan continued to glare at him.</p><p>The boy glared back and finally threw up his arms. "What? You want it in blood?" he asked, sarcastically. "Geez, okay." He raised his right hand into the air. "I promise to be a good boy and not get out of bed. Satisfied?"</p><p>"Yup," Duncan said around a smile.</p><p>Richie had settled into a sulky expression. Mac knew him too well, that was the problem. It was getting harder and harder to get away with anything around the Highlander.</p><p>"Tessa and I will be back to see you this afternoon. Try and get some sleep."</p><p>"Yeah, right...sleep," Richie intoned.</p><p>Duncan's smile widened as he left the room. The kid was bored and no wonder. Staying in a hospital room all day was difficult for anyone-especially for someone like Richie, who was always in motion. In the time he'd known the kid, he'd never seen him keep still for more than a few minutes at a time. Even at a movie, he was constantly fidgeting-flopping around in his chair, going for more popcorn. And at meals, when he managed to keep still physically, his mouth would make up for it by going a mile a minute. Sometimes all he and Tessa could do was smile around their food at his non-stop enthusiasm.</p><p>———————————</p><p>For all his grumbling about going to sleep, that's exactly what Richie did shortly after Duncan left. Not that he had much choice after the sedative the nurse gave him. "Doctor's orders," she said. What she didn't tell him was that Mr. MacLeod had made the request of the doctor personally. Seems he was concerned that the boy wouldn't rest on his own and, when left to his own devices, managed to get into trouble no matter the surroundings.</p><p>He was, however, wide awake when Mac and Tessa arrived that afternoon, and spent the better part of an hour trying to cajole the pair into getting him released early-with no luck.</p><p>"Richie, you're not well enough to come home, yet. You'll feel much better in a day or two, and I'm sure the doctor will agree to let you leave then." Tessa sat in a chair next to his bed and smiled reassuringly at him. "We just don't want to take any chances with your health."</p><p>"But I keep telling everyone, I'm fine," Richie insisted. "I mean, I oughta know how I feel, right?"</p><p>Tessa started to argue, but a motion from Duncan stopped her. The Highlander had been over this ground with him once today, and once was enough.</p><p>"All right, Richie," he said with just a hint of impatience in his voice, "you're fine," He pulled the covers away from him with a flip of his wrist. "So go over there," he said, indicating the far side of the room, "and get your clothes out of the closet."</p><p>A smile lit up Richie's face. "Now you're talking." He pulled himself into a sitting position and swung his legs out of bed. The movement sent a jolt of pain through his ribcage which he managed to hide behind clenched teeth. He was a little more careful as he pulled himself to the edge of the mattress and slowly slid to the floor.</p><p>Tessa gave Duncan a worried look, but he shook his head at her to keep her silent.</p><p>Richie started along the bed, careful to keep within easy reach of it. At it's foot he would have to journey into open territory to reach the closet, and he was psyching himself up for that. Knowing he had an audience that was judging his performance, Richie took a deep breath and launched himself forward. He got to his destination with a minimum of discomfort and couldn't help turning to smile at the couple who watched with apparent unconcern. Tessa gave him a tentative smile in return as her hands clenched in her lap.</p><p>Richie opened the closet door and reached for his shirt and jeans, draping them over the cast on his left arm before bending carefully to retrieve his shoes (thank goodness Tessa had brought him a real pair of pajamas to replace that air-conditioned gown the hospital gave him). His ribs screamed their objection to this move and for a moment he thought he was going to pass out as a ringing started in his ears. He managed to stand upright with his eyes closed and took shallow breaths until the feeling passed. If Duncan and Tessa noticed, they didn't say anything, and he wore a forced grin as he turned to face them again.</p><p>Duncan had had to physically keep Tessa from going to Richie's aid as he wavered and she had given him a look that said he had better know what he was doing.</p><p>Richie hadn't seen any of this, of course, and was only about five feet away from the bed when the roaring in his head started again, and the world spun away beneath him.</p><p>This time it was Duncan who rushed to his side with Tessa a step behind.</p><p>As MacLeod grabbed Richie's good arm and carefully wrapped a supportive arm around the boy's waist, Tessa stepped over the clothes he'd dropped and took hold of his upper left arm. They managed a few unsteady steps before Richie lost the battle raging in his head and passed out.</p><p>Duncan picked him up as if he weighed nothing, and carried him to the bed with Tessa rushing ahead to clear a path. Mac placed him gently back in bed and Tessa arranged the covers over him with a great deal of care.</p><p>Richie's face was so colorless that it was hard to tell where he left off and the pillow began and Tessa rang for the nurse in a near-frenzy.</p><p>"How could you," she threw over her shoulder at Duncan. "You knew this would happen."</p><p>"Yes, I knew, Tessa. Now he knows, too."</p><p>Tessa swung around to vent her frustration on him, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. "Oh, Duncan, I'm sorry," she said and moved to hug his side. "I know you would never hurt Richie."</p><p>Duncan smiled down at her and returned the hug as the nurse came into the room. Seeing Richie's condition, she immediately started taking the boy's vital signs.</p><p>"What happened here?"</p><p>"He took a little walk," Duncan told her, ruefully.</p><p>The look the nurse gave him wasn't complimentary and he had the good grace to blush in the face of it. She muttered something under her breath and left the room with a determined stride.</p><p>A low groan from the bed brought Duncan's attention back around in time to see Richie grimace and carefully open his eyes. Their deep blue was in sharp contrast to his wan complexion as he looked up at his friends, his vision fuzzy.</p><p>"How do you feel?" Tessa asked, reaching up to brush the hair away from his face.</p><p>"And don't say 'fine'," Duncan added.</p><p>"How about lousy, can I say lousy?" he muttered.</p><p>"I'll give you that one," Duncan said, with a half-smile. "Still want to go home?"</p><p>"Yeah," Richie admitted, "but I guess maybe I'll wait a day or two, if that's okay."</p><p>Tessa and Duncan shared a look. "I think that would be a good idea."</p><p>"So do I," came a deep voice from the doorway.</p><p>Three sets of eyes swung around as Doctor Madison walked in. He looked at Richie with a stern expression as he checked his pulse. "I hear you've been venturing out of bed."</p><p>"He told me to," Richie said, innocently, indicating Duncan.</p><p>"Did he now?" Madison raised his eyebrow at MacLeod.</p><p>"Actually, I guess I did," Duncan admitted.</p><p>"And the reason was?"</p><p>"Let's just say I was trying to prove a point."</p><p>"And did you?"</p><p>MacLeod looked down at Richie before answering. The teenager refused to look him in the eye and was frowning at no one in particular.</p><p>"Yes, I think I did."</p><p>———————-</p><p>True to his word, Doctor Madison didn't release Richie for another forty-eight hours and only then with certain rules in force-complete bed rest for another week, no lifting of any kind until his ribs healed, and his promise to follow all of Mac and Tessa's instructions to the letter.</p><p>Richie was so eager to go home that he'd agreed to everything without hesitation. It was only when he realized how many restrictions were covered by that last item that he wondered if he hadn't been better off at the hospital.</p><p>He thought Tessa had put her heart into dealing with his cuts and blisters, but that was nothing compared to the way she was nursing him now.</p><p>Appealing to Mac didn't get him anywhere, either. The Highlander seemed to be enjoying Richie's invalid status and had actually ruffled his hair when Richie complained about being treated like a kid.</p><p>It was a wonder they let him have phone calls, the way they were acting, but Richie was adamant about talking to Angie, at least, and they finally gave in to his demands.</p><p>Richie managed to have several hushed conversations with Angie by phone without either of his friend's knowledge and was awaiting her visit today with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.</p><p>The girl didn't even have time to take off her jacket before he hit her with a question. </p><p>"Did you get it?" he asked with an eye on the door.</p><p>"What?" Angie asked, distractedly. "Oh, yeah, I got it," she said, and started rummaging through her bag. She finally dug out a battered piece of paper and handed it to him.</p><p>"Snake wanted to know why you wanted the info, but of course I couldn't tell him since you haven't told me...yet," she informed him, with emphasis on the last word. She looked at Richie with eyebrows raised, but he didn't take the hint, too busy reading to pay her any mind.</p><p>"Richie!" she snapped, and snatched the paper away from him. He stared back at her as if he'd forgotten she was there.</p><p>"What's your problem?" he asked, scowling at her.</p><p>She wasn't intimidated in the least. "My problem is I wanna know who this guy is and why you needed this information on him so bad you gave Snake your autographed Sonics basketball to get it."</p><p>"Listen, Ang," Richie began, attempting to dodge the issue, but Angie knew him too well.</p><p>"No way, Ryan, you owe me. After all the crying and worrying I've done over you the last week, you better just spill it." She folded her arms across her chest-a gesture Richie knew only too well. She wasn't going to back down.</p><p>"Yeah, you've been solid." He hesitated a moment. "Okay, but you've got to keep it quiet. You can't tell anybody."</p><p>"Scout's honor," she said holding up what she hoped were the appropriate fingers. Although, she figured Richie wouldn't know the difference. The closest he'd ever gotten to the Scouts was when he'd snuck into one of their meetings and swiped half a dozen boxes of cookies.</p><p>"Okay." This was gonna go over like a ton of bricks.</p><p>"That's the guy that ran me down. The guy who ripped off the shop the other night."</p><p>"What?! Richie, you've gotta give this to the cops," she said, looking at the paper in her hands.</p><p>Richie made a face and took it back from her. "Yeah, right. I'll just explain how I recognized him from when I broke into his car. Then it's 'sayonara, see you later' Richie Ryan's on his way to jail. Thanks, but no thanks."</p><p>"All right, maybe you can't go to the police.. so tell MacLeod, he'll know what to do."</p><p>"No," Richie said, stubbornly. "This is my problem, not Mac's. This guy went after me."</p><p>Angie started to argue, but noted the stubborn set to Richie's jaw and nodded instead, taking him by surprise. "Yeah, maybe you're right, Rich. After all, you took care of yourself before without any help, right?"</p><p>"Right," he agreed, at a loss. He'd expected an argument and felt a little deflated at her calm acceptance. It wasn't like Angie to accept defeat so easily. She was too much like him in that area.</p><p>She smiled sweetly at his confused expression and looked over at the clock on his night stand. "Oh, hey, I've got to make a call."</p><p>"There's a phone in the living room," he offered and she jumped up.</p><p>"Be right back," she called over her shoulder and was gone before he could gather his thoughts.</p><p>After ten minutes, Richie was just about to maneuver himself out of bed and see what the holdup was when he heard footsteps.</p><p>"It's about time," he said, but it was Duncan, not Angie who walked in.</p><p>"Oh, hi, Mac," he said airily, not noticing the thundercloud expression on the Highlander's face. "Angie go home, or something?"</p><p>"Yes....or something," he replied in a tone that got Richie's attention right away.</p><p>"Something wrong?" he asked, tentatively.</p><p>"You could say that. Hand it over," MacLeod demanded, his own hand outstretched. </p><p>"What?"</p><p>"You know what," Duncan came back, angrily. "I want the paper Angie gave you."</p><p>"Paper?" Richie tried innocently as the truth dawned on him, but MacLeod was in no mood to play.</p><p>"Richie!" This was Mac's no-nonsense tone. The one reserved for evil Immortals, and teenage boys who were pushing their luck.</p><p>Scowling, Richie gave up the attempt, and pulled the now very crumpled paper out from under his pillow before reluctantly handing it to Duncan.</p><p>"You've got a big mouth Burke!" he shouted in the general direction of the living room.</p><p>Duncan perused the note briefly, then refocused his attention on the boy in his care.</p><p>"Of all the crazy ideas....don't you ever think things through? Wasn't it enough that he almost killed you once, you want to give him another chance?"</p><p>"Don't mince words, Mac. Say what's on your mind," Richie said, flippantly, then wished he hadn't when he saw the look MacLeod leveled at him. He suddenly found the foot of his bed very interesting.</p><p>The minutes seemed to stretch out endlessly as Duncan regained control of his temper. His worry over the kid had spread his emotions pretty thin lately, but balling him out wouldn't do either of them any good. Even though that's exactly what he wanted to do at the moment.</p><p>"Why didn't you tell me you recognized the man who hit you?"</p><p>MacLeod's voice had changed from his angry adult tone to his disappointed guardian tone and Richie winced inside. The first always made him wary and defensive, the second just made him feel guilty.</p><p>Richie shrugged. "I don't know," he said, without looking up.</p><p>"Yes you do," Duncan said, knowingly.</p><p>Richie looked up at him before his gaze dropped back to his lap. "I can take care of myself, Mac," he said, defensively, before remembering his current condition. "Okay, so maybe I'm not doing such a good job of it right now, but you've got enough things to worry about. It's not your problem," he ended, just above a whisper.</p><p>"It's not my problem?" Duncan's voice was steel once more. "This man nearly killed you and it's not my problem?" His brogue was so strong Richie could barely understand him there at the end.</p><p>He started pacing up and down the side of the boy's bed, and Richie wondered if he should try to make a break for it while he had the chance, but Duncan killed that thought by coming to stand right in the middle of his escape route.</p><p>"Richie, when this guy went after someone I care about, he became my problem," he told him, forcefully. "And just how did you think you were going to take care of this on your own?"</p><p>"I don't know," the teen admitted. "I would have thought of something."</p><p>"The only thing you're going to think about for the new few weeks is getting well, do you understand?" That angry adult tone was back, but it was mixed with something else that Richie couldn't identify. Fear? Not, that, surely, MacLeod wasn't afraid of anything.</p><p>When the boy didn't say anything right away, Duncan reinforced his instructions. "I mean it, Richie. I'll take care of this. I don't want you to worry about it anymore."</p><p>Richie hadn't realized just how much it had been on his mind until MacLeod said that. And although he wanted to think he could have handled it on his own, it was nice to know he didn't have to. That there were other people who 'cared about' him, to use Mac's words. He knew Mac and Tessa were like that, but a part of him was still waiting for them to decide he was too much trouble and toss him out.</p><p>"Okay, Mac, if you say so."</p><p>Duncan gave him a small smile. "I say so," he said, and started for the door. He turned back when he reached it and gave Richie a piercing look. "Anything else I should know about?"</p><p>Richie grinned. "No, that's it."</p><p>Duncan nodded and turned away again.</p><p>"Hey, Mac."</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Uh, you didn't tell Tessa about this, did you?" he asked, looking suddenly apprehensive. "I mean, I wouldn't want her to worry," he added, with false bravado.</p><p>Duncan tried not to smile. "No, I didn't tell Tessa."</p><p>Richie's relief was short-lived.</p><p>"I didn't have to," Duncan continued, "she was there when Angie told *me*. But don't worry," he said, smiling openly now, "I hid her hairbrush."</p><p>Mac closed the door on Richie's startled expression and smiled inwardly. That is until he recalled the paper in his hand and the pain and worry they had all gone through because of this particular mortal.</p><p>Angie, who was making her way back to Richie's room, froze at the forbidding look on MacLeod's face. Never having been around him when someone he loved was threatened, she misread the look entirely.</p><p>"Don't be mad at Richie, Mr. MacLeod," she pleaded, catching Duncan's attention. "He's not a bad guy, it's just, you know, sometimes he doesn't think."</p><p>Mac smiled down at her. "I know. And I'm not mad at Richie. Well, maybe just a little," he added as an afterthought, and she laughed at his expression.</p><p>"He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?" she asked, turning serious. "I mean, I used to think you guys were just trying to prove something by taking in a street kid," she admitted, ruefully. "But that's not it, is it? You really like having him around."</p><p>"Yes, we really like having him around." Duncan eyed her closely. "Does that surprise you?"</p><p>"Me? Nah, I think Richie's great. Always have, ever since we were kids. But other people, well, sometimes they don't see the real Richie at first. You know, he puts on this toughguy pose like, you hurt him, he'll hurt you." She shook her head, adding, "and the guy doesn't have a mean bone in his body."</p><p>"He's lucky to have a friend like you."</p><p>Angie smiled, pleased and embarrassed by the compliment. "We back each other, that's all. Always have, ever since the third grade." She eyed the door to his room, uncomfortably. "I guess he's pretty sore at me right now."</p><p>"He should be glad you told us."</p><p>The look Angie gave him said she didn't think that was likely.</p><p>"Well," she said, taking a deep breath, "might as well face it."</p><p>Duncan couldn't help but grin as she walked by him with her shoulders back and a determined look on her face. Then he remembered a little matter he needed to see to and headed in the other direction with a determined look of his own and a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.</p><p>———————</p><p>Tessa came in with a lunch tray for Richie shortly after Angie left for her job at the shelter. She set it up silently, her only comment as she looked at him pointedly was that she'd come back to pick up his 'cleaned' plate in half an hour. Even as angry as she was with him at the moment, she was still concerned about his diminished appetite and had piled his plate with some of his favorites.</p><p>True to her word, thirty minutes later, Tessa returned to retrieve the tray.</p><p>"Sorry, Tessa. I couldn't fit it all in," he admitted, as she eyed his half-full plate with an expression he couldn't decipher.</p><p>"Do you feel all right?" she asked, hiding her concern with an effort.</p><p>"Sure, I'm fine. Just not very hungry, I guess. I'm sorry," he said, again, and wasn't really sure if he was apologizing for lunch or his earlier foolhardiness.</p><p>Tessa caught the double meaning behind his words and considered letting him off the hook. Then she got a mental picture of him going after that man on his own and lying in a ditch somewhere and changed her mind.</p><p>"Is Mac around?" Richie asked, squirming slightly as she continued to stare at him.</p><p>"He had some things to do," she answered, cryptically. "He'll be back in a little while."</p><p>Richie wondered if Mac was looking into the information Snake had scrounged up and wished for the hundredth time that he was up and around again. This bed rest routine was getting to be a real drag.</p><p>"Do you need me to help you to the bathroom?"</p><p>He'd stopped being embarrassed by that question after his first day home. "No, Tessa, I'm okay."</p><p>"All right," she said, regarding him closely. "I have a few things to work on in the study, but I'll be within shouting distance if you need me. Don't try to get up by yourself for anything, understand?"</p><p>"Yes, ma'am."</p><p>Tessa couldn't detect any sarcasm in his voice, which both pleased and worried her. She picked up the tray and went out, leaving the door open.</p><p>Tessa was working on the store accounts. Not her favorite area, she usually left it to Duncan, but the mundane details took her mind off other things and that was what she wanted right now. She knew Duncan was off doing something dangerous, and downplaying it for her sake, and even knowing he was immortal didn't stop her from worrying. She'd had just about all the worry she could take regarding the men in her life lately. On that subject she wondered what Richie was up to. It had been awfully quiet the last hour. The normal drone of the television from his room had been absent for some time, and Richie just wasn't much for reading.</p><p>Tessa got to her feet with a glint in her eye and headed for his room with a purposeful stride. If he had gotten out of bed she was going to strangle him.</p><p>She entered his room at full steam....and stopped short.</p><p>Richie was lying on his left side, his right arm curled protectively around his bandaged ribs, his left forearm in it's cast on the pillow by his head, sound asleep. The light from his bedside lamp emphasized the gauntness of his cheeks and the circles under his eyes, and Tessa suddenly felt petty for her earlier treatment. Yes, he was exasperating at times and, yes, he took unnecessary chances, but his heart was always in the right place and the chances he took, he took for his friends, not for himself.</p><p>She brushed his hair back away from his face and pulled the covers up around him before turning off the lamp and leaving the room in a far different mood than when she entered.</p><p>————————</p><p>Duncan's T-bird pulled up in front of 11258 West Oakland. He wasn't surprised to find a rather expensive Tudor house at the address. This guy had good taste, he only stole the very best, and he smoked very high-priced cigars. He checked the paper once more before climbing out. Simon Chesterfield-undoubtedly an alias, he was too smart to give his name to a fence. </p><p>Not one to shy away from a fight, MacLeod went directly to the front door and rang the bell. This was no Immortal, after all, and he had no fear for himself. He intended to put the fear of God into this man, however, and it would be no act on his part. He was angry enough at the moment to break him into little pieces for what he'd put Richie and Tessa through, but, as always, he had that anger buried just beneath the surface.</p><p>No one answered on the first or second ring, and Duncan gave up the pretense of being polite and broke the lock with one well placed kick. No alarm, that would have been too much of a risk. One false alarm and the guy would have had to explain to the cops where all the stolen property came from.</p><p>Duncan made a complete circuit of the house, attic to basement, and, indeed, no one was home. He left things the way he'd found them-other than the front door-and headed back for the car. As he climbed back behind the wheel, the hairs suddenly stood up on the back of his neck and he sped away from the curb in a cloud of dust, heading for home. That four-hundred-year-old sense that something wasn't right had set his nerves tingling once again, and he had the uncanny feeling that he'd played right into this guys plans.</p><p>————————</p><p>Ian Simmons-yes the other *was* an alias-watched Duncan MacLeod drive away. That left his woman, Tessa Noel, and the boy, Richie Ryan. He would have preferred to only have to deal with the boy, but thought it was unlikely that the woman would leave him alone. So be it. Ryan was a loose end, and he never left loose ends. That could prove to be fatal in his line of work. He was forced to wait until the sidewalk outside of the shop emptied. It wouldn't do to be seen going in. </p><p>He entered the store through the front door. Why not, he looked like any other customer. He had no fear of being recognized, for reasons of his own, the boy obviously had kept his description to himself, or maybe the knock on the head had removed any memory of the event. No matter, the memory might come back, and he wasn't going to risk it. Besides, he owed the boy for nearly breaking his nose. Even now he had an unbecoming scar running across the bridge, and he had always prided himself on his looks. Yes, the boy had to pay.</p><p>Tessa looked up from her books as she heard the front door open. She had meant to put the 'closed' sign up when Duncan left, but had forgotten. Well, they had been closed most of the past week, and a little business certainly wouldn't hurt.</p><p>She made her way through to the shop in time to greet a well-dressed gentlemen in a tailored English suit, complete with ivory tipped cane.</p><p>"Hello, may I show you something?"</p><p>He made a quick perusal of the room before answering. Yes, they were indeed alone.</p><p>"Ah, dear lady," he said in a clipped English accent, "I'm afraid we don't have time for that. Besides, I've already seen everything." He smiled, rather unpleasantly, Tessa thought, as she digested his words.</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>He continued to smile as he turned and locked the door, placing the 'closed' sign in the window. "I mean, that I'm here on business, not pleasure, and there really is so little time for niceties." </p><p>He started toward her, swinging his cane idly, and Tessa matched him step for step in the opposite direction. </p><p>"What do you want?" she asked, but feared she already knew.</p><p>"Come, come, dear lady, surely you've figured that out." He swung his cane out suddenly and shattered a priceless seventeenth century figurine on a stand to his right.</p><p>"Where's the boy," he asked, and his voice had a menacing quality to it that his accent couldn't hide.</p><p>"He's not here," she lied. "We took him back to the hospital. He was ill."</p><p>"Wrong answer." Another swipe of the cane, and another figurine hit the floor in pieces.</p><p>Richie woke in a near panic, and didn't know why. For once there had been no nightmarish scenes of a car bearing down on him, but he was on edge just the same. A crash in another part of the apartment had him sitting bolt upright.</p><p>"Tess! Tess, you okay?"</p><p>"Answer him," Simmons ordered, swinging the cane from side to side.</p><p>"Yes, I'm fine," she called back, her voice a little shaky despite her best efforts.</p><p>"Well, done," he complimented. "Have you ever considered the stage?"</p><p>He backed Tessa up against a display case and brought the tip of his cane up beneath her chin. "It's a pity, really. You are really quite lovely." He raised the cane above his head and Tessa screamed, a sound that reverberated through the store.</p><p>Something suddenly barreled into Simmons from the side and he was thrown to the floor. He recovered quickly and jumped to his feet again with a cat's grace.</p><p>Richie tried to do the same, but his head was ringing and he couldn't seem to find his bearings. He managed to climb to his knees, and swayed as his stomach threatened to expel his lunch.</p><p>"Well, well, and what do we have here?"</p><p>Richie found himself being dragged to his feet by a fist in the front of his pajama top. He looked up into a face he had seen in a dozen nightmares.</p><p>"Leave her alone, you son of a bitch," he ground out between clenched teeth. "I'm the one you want."</p><p>"Actually, I want both of you," he corrected, with a wolfish smile. "But since you want to be first," he lifted his shoulders in an almost imperceptible shrug, "who am I to argue."</p><p>Richie took a wild swing at him, and found himself slammed up against the wall for his trouble. His ribs screamed and he nearly passed out. He certainly would have been back on his knees except for the fist that once more held him in place.</p><p>"Leave him alone, he's just a boy," Tessa pleaded.</p><p>"Yes, but he's caused me no amount of inconvenience, and there's a price to be paid."</p><p>He raised the cane again and Tessa screamed and started forward. A heavy Scottish accent had her whirling to face the front door.</p><p>"I wouldna do that, if I were yoo." Duncan MacLeod stood with Katana drawn and Tessa thought he had never looked more handsome.</p><p>"Let the boy go," Duncan ordered, his brogue under control. "Let's see how you fare against someone your own size."</p><p>Simmons laughed and released Richie. The boy slid down the wall and Tessa rushed to his side as Simmons moved away.</p><p>"Ah, a challenge," he said, and drew the protective tip off of the end of the cane, revealing a rather sharp blade. "This should prove to be interesting."</p><p>Richie and Tessa watched as the two maneuvered around each other for a moment. Then the serious battle began. Simmons was good, very good, but he was no Duncan MacLeod. Mac played with him for a few minutes, taunting the man as he had taunted his family, then, shielding them from the lunge he was about to make, he cleanly took Simmons through the heart.</p><p>The man seemed shocked at the turn of events. "I say, well done," he gasped out before his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the floor.</p><p>Duncan didn't waste any more time on him, but rushed to Tessa and Richie. Richie was trying to stand, but Tessa's restraining hand wouldn't allow it.</p><p>"Don't try to move, Richie," Duncan told him, quickly checking for injuries. "Where does it hurt?"</p><p>"Huh? Where does what hurt?" the boy asked, clearly disoriented.</p><p>Mac and Tessa shared a concerned look then Mac held up three fingers. "How many fingers do you see?" </p><p>"Blue," Richie replied earnestly.</p><p>"Great," Duncan muttered. "Tessa are you all right?"</p><p>"Yes, he didn't hurt me, only Richie." She brushed Richie's hair back in a nervous gesture. "He would have killed us."</p><p>"He's not going to hurt anyone again, Tess," he promised. "Think you can call the police?"</p><p>"Yes, of course," she assured him and climbed gracefully to her feet.</p><p>"Okay, toughguy, hang on," he instructed, before putting an arm behind Richie's back and one under his knees and lifting him effortlessly. </p><p>"Mac?" Richie said, seeming to come out of it to some degree.</p><p>"Yeah, it's me."</p><p>"I'm glad you're here."</p><p>"I'm glad you're here, too," Duncan said, and smiled.</p><p>Richie was more coherent by the time the police arrived and even found the energy to enhance the story a time or two. Nothing drastic, of course, just a little extra action, here and there.</p><p>A little over an hour later, he was safely settled in bed once more, and Duncan was standing over him looking way too serious.</p><p>"Everything okay out there?" Richie asked, in an attempt to get attention away from himself.</p><p>"Everything's fine....out there. How do you feel? And if I even think you're keeping something from me, I'll haul your butt back to the hospital so fast it'll make your head swim."</p><p>Richie frowned at the threat, but didn't argue.</p><p>"How's your vision?" Duncan continued.</p><p>"It's okay, now."</p><p>"Mm hm, how many?" Duncan asked, holding up a couple of fingers.</p><p>"Two."</p><p>"Good," Duncan said, nodding. He noticed Richie was swallowing carefully, and looked a little green. "Sick to your stomach?"</p><p>"Not so much, now. Not like before."</p><p>"Before?"</p><p>"Yeah," Richie admitted, guiltily, "I almost tossed it out there."</p><p>MacLeod just sighed heavily at that bit of news, but didn't lecture. "All right...next," he prompted.</p><p>"Um, ribs are kinda sore," Richie said, hesitantly, afraid that Mac would consider the list too long and decide he belonged in the hospital after all.</p><p>He thought his fears were about to be realized when Duncan knelt down to get a better look at him.</p><p>"Are you having trouble breathing," he asked, concerned, as he pressed along the boy's ribcage carefully.</p><p>"No, Mac, I'm okay. It's just that he threw me against the wall kind of hard."</p><p>Duncan didn't look convinced.</p><p>"Really, they felt a lot worse before I left the hospital."</p><p>Duncan saw the truth in his eyes and got back to his feet. "Okay, what else?"</p><p>It was on the tip of Richie's tongue to say 'nothing', but with MacLeod regarding him so closely, he changed his mind.</p><p>"I guess my head hurts," he said, unhappily.</p><p>MacLeod had the feeling he'd saved the worst for last. "Bad?"</p><p>"Yeah. Little guy with a jackhammer's having a field day back here," he said, rubbing the back of his head and gritting his teeth.</p><p>Richie feared that was the straw that broke the camel's back when he saw the look on Duncan's face. His next words confirmed it.</p><p>"Richie, maybe we'd better..."</p><p>"Aw, Mac, come on...it's just a headache. Everybody gets them," he reasoned.</p><p>"Yes, everybody gets headaches, Richie, but everybody wasn't in a coma a week ago with a head injury."</p><p>Richie looked so unhappy over that piece of logic that Mac decided to meet him half-way.</p><p>"Okay, I'll call Madison and tell him what happened. But if he says to bring you in, that's it, Rich. No arguments, right?"</p><p>"Right."</p><p>Duncan nodded at him. "Stay put," he ordered before leaving the room. He stopped to speak with Tessa before dialing Dr. Madison's office.</p><p>As soon as Mac left the room, Richie leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes against the pounding in his head. He sat up again, and tried to look healthy when he heard footsteps coming down the hall.</p><p>Tessa came in holding a steaming mug in her hands and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Here, drink this," she instructed, handing him the cup.</p><p>"What is it?"</p><p>"Peppermint tea," Tessa answered, giving him a reassuring smile, " it will help settle your stomach."</p><p>"Thanks, Tess," he said, gratefully, taking a small swallow. "It's good," he added, surprised.</p><p>Richie looked at the door apprehensively, as he heard Duncan's murmured voice on the phone in the living room.</p><p>"Don't worry," Tessa said, taking one of his hands while he slowly finished the tea.</p><p>Duncan walked in a moment later.</p><p>"So, what did he say?" Tessa asked.</p><p>"He said to keep an eye on him tonight and he'll drop by on his way to the hospital tomorrow."</p><p>"You got him to make a house call?" Richie asked, in awe. "Man, nobody does that anymore."</p><p>"They haven't had to deal with Duncan MacLeod," Tessa said, proudly, standing up and sliding an arm around him.</p><p>"Thanks, Mac," Richie said, sincerely.</p><p>"Da nada," Duncan replied.</p><p>"What about his headache?" </p><p>"Madison said to give him three Tylenol to start, then two at a time as he needs them," he said, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the bottle. He filled the now empty cup with water from the bathroom tap and handed it to Richie with three pills. The boy downed them quickly and handed the mug back to MacLeod.</p><p>Duncan pulled Tessa aside. "Madison says to watch him closely for the next hour or so. If he seems overly tired, or disoriented we have to take him to the hospital right away," he explained.</p><p>"He thinks it's a concussion?" she asked, worried.</p><p>"Probably not. He was too alert and talkative while the police were here, but with the headache and blurred vision he just wants to be sure."</p><p>"I understand," she said, and they turned back to Richie who had closed his eyes again.</p><p>"Richie!" Mac said, a little louder than he'd intended.</p><p>"Yeah, what?" the teen asked, confused by the urgency in Mac's voice.</p><p>"Sorry," Duncan said, chagrined. For a moment he thought Richie had dropped off to sleep right behind their backs. "Tired?" he asked.</p><p>"No, not really. That tea kind of calmed me down, that's all."</p><p>"In that case I'll be sure to keep a supply on hand," Tessa said, jokingly, and watched for Richie's reaction.</p><p>"Hey," he said, feigning hurt, "I'm not that bad."</p><p>Duncan and Tessa looked at him with something close to astonishment.</p><p>"You know what your problem is? You guys just led a boring life before I came around, that's all."</p><p>"Not boring, but certainly quieter," Duncan said, with an amused grin.</p><p>"Oh, sure, like I'm to blame for all the dudes with swords that keep showing up," Richie threw back.</p><p>"Touché," Tessa said, looking at Duncan.</p><p>He gazed back at her and took her hands in his. "Any regrets?" he asked, kissing one of her hands and regarding her closely.</p><p>She answered him with a smile and leaned forward to kiss him warmly.</p><p>"Uh, maybe I should leave," Richie said around a grin.</p><p>Duncan and Tessa were much too comfortable around Richie to be embarrassed. He'd seen more than that, accidentally, in the time he'd lived with them. So, they simply smiled at each other, a promise in their eyes, and turned back to the teenager.</p><p>"It looks to me like you're feeling better," Duncan observed.</p><p>"Yeah, I am," Richie said, and sounded a little surprised. "My headache's almost gone. I guess that means I can get up again," he said airily, and threw the covers back.</p><p>"I guess it *doesn't*," MacLeod said, just as amiably, and pulled the covers back up. "Richie, if you get out of bed again before the doctor's visit, I will happily break your neck." This was said around a smile that took much of the sting out of the words.</p><p>Richie shrugged. "Well, it was worth a try."</p><p>None of them had even mentioned Simmons. He was a chapter in their lives best forgotten, though they would all remember how close they'd come to losing something irreplaceable, and they'd all be more aware of how lucky they were in the future.</p><p>————————</p><p>Dr. Madison arrived the following morning as promised to examine Richie and was amazed at his progress. He retaped the boy's ribs and told Duncan to have him stay in bed a few more days as a precaution after the previous day's excitement and to restrict his activities for a few weeks after that, but otherwise he pronounced Richie fit to be up and around.</p><p>Richie somehow decided that all this meant he was completely well, and could wander around the apartment and shop as he saw fit. The second time Duncan discovered him missing from his room it took five minutes of searching before he found him sitting next to what remained of his motorcycle in the alley behind the shop. He bit his lip to keep from lecturing the boy when he saw the look on his face, and instead knelt down beside him.</p><p>"I really did a job on it this time," Richie said, dejectedly, holding a piece of the mangled tailpipe in his hands.</p><p>"We'll get it fixed, Rich."</p><p>Richie gave him a look that said he knew better. "It's totaled, Mac." He turned the tailpipe over in his hands and contemplated his friend. "I was pretty lucky, huh?"</p><p>"We all were, Richie."</p><p>Richie blinked as the full meaning of the words came to him and he gave Mac a crooked smile, but said nothing.</p><p>Duncan took the useless piece of metal out of his hands and helped him to his feet. "C'mon, let's get back inside before Tessa sends out a search party."</p><p>They crossed Tessa's path on their way back to Richie's room and she was all set to blast Richie for disappearing when a look and slight shake of Duncan's head stopped her.</p><p>Once Richie was settled back in bed, Duncan suddenly remembered something he had to do and left in a rush. He was gone a little over an hour and came back with a wrapped package and a huge grin on his face. In answer to Tessa's question of where he'd been, he motioned for her to follow him and headed for Richie's room.</p><p>"I take it he *is* in his room," MacLeod said.</p><p>"Yes, I don't think he's moved since you left."</p><p>She was right. Richie was sitting in the same position Duncan had left him in, and seemed thoroughly dispirited. </p><p>"How you doing?" Duncan asked, as he and Tessa walked in.</p><p>"Okay," he said, without enthusiasm. "Where ya been?"</p><p>"Oh, I had an appointment to see a mutual friend of ours."</p><p>"Who?" Richie asked, confused. His friends and Mac didn't have much in common.</p><p>"Snake," Duncan said, evenly.</p><p>"Snake?" Richie exclaimed. "Mac, that guy's bad news. He's into all kinds of shady stuff. You shouldn't go around a guy like......." He trailed off as he realized what he was saying and saw Mac's raised eyebrow and Tessa's hands-on-hips stance. "Yeah, well I had a good reason," he finished, lamely.</p><p>"As it turns out, so did I," Duncan said, and tossed the parcel to the boy.</p><p>"What's this?"</p><p>"Open it and find out," was Mac's cryptic reply.</p><p>Richie tore into the paper with renewed enthusiasm. He loved presents, and had received so few in his life.</p><p>The paper came away to reveal a perfectly square box and Richie didn't waste any time opening it. He stopped when he saw what was inside and looked up at Duncan a moment before lifting his autographed Sonics basketball free of the tissue paper.</p><p>"How did you know?"</p><p>"Angie told me."</p><p>"Boy, I'd have bet money ole Snake would never have let loose of this," Richie commented, turning the basketball over in his hands lovingly. "What did it cost you?" he asked, suddenly concerned. He already owed them so much.</p><p>"That's none of your business," Duncan replied, bluntly. "You don't ask what someone paid for a gift."</p><p>Richie gave the couple one of his best smiles. "Thanks."</p><p>"Well," Tessa said, after clearing a lump from her throat, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready for lunch."</p><p>"Sounds good to me," Richie said.</p><p>"Me, too," Duncan added.</p><p>"Good. Come on, you can help me in the kitchen," she said and led MacLeod out while Richie looked his cherished possession over for fingerprints.</p><p>Duncan came back shortly with a glass of a strangely colored liquid.</p><p>"Here," he said, handing it to the boy.</p><p>"What's this?" Richie asked, eyeing the concoction, suspiciously.</p><p>"It's a high-protein drink. It'll do wonders for you."</p><p>Richie looked unconvinced.</p><p>"Just drink it," Duncan ordered, shaking his head at the teenager.</p><p>Richie took a mouthful and gagged. "Geez, that stuff's awful. You trying to kill me or something?"</p><p>"It's good for you," Mac said around a barely suppressed smile.</p><p>Richie glared at him. "Yeah, well, you like it so much, you drink it."</p><p>"Richie!" Tessa admonished. She came in bearing a tray with more appetizing selections. Namely, a western omelet, toast and orange juice. "Duncan's just trying to speed along your recovery."</p><p>The teen looked suitably repentant. "Yeah, I know, but does that mean I have to go along with one of his fitness programs?"</p><p>Tessa smiled at him and set the tray on his lap before relieving him of the glass in his hand.</p><p>"What *is* this?"</p><p>"It's a high-protein drink. It'll do wonders for you," Richie mimicked Duncan's earlier words along with his brogue. "Careful, Tess, it's deadly," he added as an afterthought.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad," she said, before tasting it.</p><p>"Oh! That's terrible!" she exclaimed, making a very un-Tessa like face.</p><p>Both Mac and Richie burst out laughing at her expression.</p><p>"All right, all right," Tessa said, frowning at the amused pair. "You," she said, pointing at Duncan, "take this nasty stuff and pour it down the drain."</p><p>MacLeod looked offended but accepted the glass from her.</p><p>"And you," she continued, looking at Richie sternly, "I expect you to eat everything on your plate." Tessa never thought she would have to encourage Richie to eat. Up till now she had battled to hold him to five or six meals a day.</p><p>Richie managed to stifle his laughter with some difficulty. He hadn't laughed like this since before his accident. It felt good, even though his ribs protested a little. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, with a crisp salute.</p><p>Duncan snorted at that, and a glare from Tessa sent him from the room, glass in hand.</p><p>Richie was attacking his meal with a vengeance, and she couldn't help but smile as he devoured an entire piece of toast in two bites.</p><p>"Not so fast," she advised, "you'll make yourself sick."</p><p>"Ahm ungree," he mumbled around a mouthful of omelet.</p><p>Tessa couldn't contain a smile. She never thought she'd be glad to see Richie wolfing his food. His face was filling out again, and his eyes had a sparkle to them that she hadn't realized was missing up until now.</p><p>She sat down on the edge of the bed as he finished his juice in one swallow and moved the tray to the foot of the bed.</p><p>"Feel better?" she asked, her amusement plain.</p><p>"Yeah, thanks," he said, leaning back against the headboard. "So when's dinner?"</p><p>Tessa's laugh echoed through the apartment and Duncan smiled as the sound reached him.</p><p>Richie Ryan, fender-denter and plate-chipper was back.</p>
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